Ettrick Fire Station 12

By Becky Robinette Wright
Formed in 1928, Ettrick Fire Station recently celebrated 80 years of lifesaving and firefighting. On Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008,the station, located at 21200 Chesterfield Avenue, had an open house to recognize its anniversary.
For decades, the station has been an icon in the community.
“The station was the first volunteer fire department organized in Chesterfield,” said Tommy Herman, member of the Old Dominion Historical Fire Society and a Phillips Station Volunteer Firefighter. “It operated under Ettrick Sanitary District, which is separate from the county.”
Ettrick was known as Company #1 until the late 1960s.
No fancy fire trucks were available in the beginning. The original equipment consisted of two hose reels that were hand-drawn and operated by only hydrant pressure. The hose reels served the firefighters for about a year and were housed in a garage near the present day station location.
The department made great strides in its firefighting abilities when in 1931, the first piece of motorized apparatus was purchased, a REO Chemical truck from Orange County, Va. A giant leap was made in 1935 when the department’s equipment was upgraded to a 1935 Ford Oren pumper from Roanoke.
“The department members and their families paid for that Oren themselves,” Herman proudly said. “The Oren was housed in a two-car garage until 1938.”
The original Oren is now being restored by firefighters and is kept at the station.
More changes were coming for the growing department when the Ladies’ Auxiliary bought the tract of land in 1938 where the station currently sits with borrowed money from the Works Project Administration (WPA). The catch was the station building had to be a municipal building in addition to a fire station. A station siren was mounted high atop a pole in 1939.
As the county’s population and calls for service grew, the all volunteer station transitioned into a combination station of paid and volunteer members. Today, the station is all career members.
In Christmas’s of the past, the truck was pulled out, Santa sat on the back, children climbed up and could talk to Santa. In the days of the past, a brown paper bag with an apple, orange, nuts and a piece of candy was considered quite a treat.
A large cedar tree in front of the station would be lit for Christmas.
Brunswick stew was made during the year and calendars to raise funds. You could have your name added to the calendar on the date of your birthday,” said Ellen Anderson of Ettrick Historical Society.
For more information, visit the Old Dominion Historical Fire Society at www.odhfs. org or the Ettrick Historical Society, www. ettrickhistoricalsociety.com.