Sun Weekly. May 27, 2003
Volunteer Fire Department Celebrates 100 Years
by Brian Trompeter
When Sam Savia joined the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department in 1941, it was the natural thing to do. After all, his brother Phillip served there and the department was located only a block away on Church Street.
"I was proud to be an American," said Savia, both of whose parents were Italian immigrants. "I felt fortunate to be here and wanted to give something back."
Before serving in the Army Air Corps in World War II, Savia watched for aircraft from the department’s tower and listened for air raid alerts from its siren.
"If you were on call and the siren blew, you went, even if you had a customer in the chair," said Savia, who worked in his family’s barber shop. "Often he’d belong [to the fire department], too, and you’d finish up the haircut later."
Three siren blasts meant a brush or woods fire, more indicated a structure blaze and a minutes-long, continuous blast signaled an air raid, Savia said.
The air raid siren is gone and the department occupies a different building, but Vienna volunteer firefighters continue to help keep the town safe.
The department will celebrate its centennial on Saturday, May 31, at a gala at the Hyatt Fair Lakes in Fairfax.
U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison will be the keynote speaker. The Vienna Police Department’s Honor Guard will present colors and the James Madison High School Jazz Band will provide music.
The Vienna Volunteer Fire Department was established in 1903 at the behest of Vienna Town Council member Leon Freeman, the same man after whom the town’s Freeman Store is named. Freeman was the town’s first fire chief and remained active in the department until 1936.
Although it was the first volunteer fire department established in Fairfax County, the designation "Company 1" went to the McLean Volunteer Fire Department, whose charter arrived in the mail one day earlier than Vienna’s, and Vienna had to settle for the "Company 2" designation.
Not satisfied with "bucket brigade" efforts, the department purchased a 35-gallon, horse-drawn tank that was activated by soda acid. The tank was stored under the side porch of the Freeman Store until 1929, when the department moved to its next facility on Church Street, N.W.
This site, which later was converted to the recently closed Worthington’s store, had two A-shaped bay roofs to accommodate equipment.
The department’s 1919 Model T Ford truck was the county’s first motorized firefighting vehicle. It was followed soon by a 1924 Chevy. Another of the department’s early vehicles, a 1946 Maxim pumper truck, still is on display at the station and occasionally is used for parades and other events.
In 1958, the department moved to its current facility at 400 Center St., S. The building was to be located where Waters Field now sits, but the Fairfax County School Board wanted more land next to Vienna Elementary School, Savia said.
The department now has 70 volunteers, most of whom serve in support roles. The station received its first paid employee, Robert Hunter, in 1948 and now has 21 paid firefighters. These people are divided into three crews that work a dozen 24-hour shifts per month, Savia said.
When terrorists crashed an airplane into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, Vienna’s paid firefighters assisted with rescue efforts. Volunteer crews helped by staffing additional medical units in Vienna and Fairfax County, fire officials said.
The department supports itself through donations, fund-raising efforts and bingo games in its meeting hall every Sunday night.
The department also used to have charity baseball games where players would ride donkeys around the bases, said volunteer firefighter Thomas Bonner, who joined in 1961.
Last year, the department bought more than $500,000 worth of new equipment, including a new fire engine and medic unit.
The department has spent nearly $200,000 renovating the front of its fire station and hopes to raise $2.4 million to improve the building’s living quarters and other facilities, said Howard Springsteen, president of the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department.
Tickets to the fire department’s centennial gala cost $75. To purchase tickets or make a donation, visit www.vvfd.org or write to the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 1115, Vienna, VA 22183.
by Brian Trompeter
When Sam Savia joined the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department in 1941, it was the natural thing to do. After all, his brother Phillip served there and the department was located only a block away on Church Street.
"I was proud to be an American," said Savia, both of whose parents were Italian immigrants. "I felt fortunate to be here and wanted to give something back."
Before serving in the Army Air Corps in World War II, Savia watched for aircraft from the department’s tower and listened for air raid alerts from its siren.
"If you were on call and the siren blew, you went, even if you had a customer in the chair," said Savia, who worked in his family’s barber shop. "Often he’d belong [to the fire department], too, and you’d finish up the haircut later."
Three siren blasts meant a brush or woods fire, more indicated a structure blaze and a minutes-long, continuous blast signaled an air raid, Savia said.
The air raid siren is gone and the department occupies a different building, but Vienna volunteer firefighters continue to help keep the town safe.
The department will celebrate its centennial on Saturday, May 31, at a gala at the Hyatt Fair Lakes in Fairfax.
U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison will be the keynote speaker. The Vienna Police Department’s Honor Guard will present colors and the James Madison High School Jazz Band will provide music.
The Vienna Volunteer Fire Department was established in 1903 at the behest of Vienna Town Council member Leon Freeman, the same man after whom the town’s Freeman Store is named. Freeman was the town’s first fire chief and remained active in the department until 1936.
Although it was the first volunteer fire department established in Fairfax County, the designation "Company 1" went to the McLean Volunteer Fire Department, whose charter arrived in the mail one day earlier than Vienna’s, and Vienna had to settle for the "Company 2" designation.
Not satisfied with "bucket brigade" efforts, the department purchased a 35-gallon, horse-drawn tank that was activated by soda acid. The tank was stored under the side porch of the Freeman Store until 1929, when the department moved to its next facility on Church Street, N.W.
This site, which later was converted to the recently closed Worthington’s store, had two A-shaped bay roofs to accommodate equipment.
The department’s 1919 Model T Ford truck was the county’s first motorized firefighting vehicle. It was followed soon by a 1924 Chevy. Another of the department’s early vehicles, a 1946 Maxim pumper truck, still is on display at the station and occasionally is used for parades and other events.
In 1958, the department moved to its current facility at 400 Center St., S. The building was to be located where Waters Field now sits, but the Fairfax County School Board wanted more land next to Vienna Elementary School, Savia said.
The department now has 70 volunteers, most of whom serve in support roles. The station received its first paid employee, Robert Hunter, in 1948 and now has 21 paid firefighters. These people are divided into three crews that work a dozen 24-hour shifts per month, Savia said.
When terrorists crashed an airplane into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, Vienna’s paid firefighters assisted with rescue efforts. Volunteer crews helped by staffing additional medical units in Vienna and Fairfax County, fire officials said.
The department supports itself through donations, fund-raising efforts and bingo games in its meeting hall every Sunday night.
The department also used to have charity baseball games where players would ride donkeys around the bases, said volunteer firefighter Thomas Bonner, who joined in 1961.
Last year, the department bought more than $500,000 worth of new equipment, including a new fire engine and medic unit.
The department has spent nearly $200,000 renovating the front of its fire station and hopes to raise $2.4 million to improve the building’s living quarters and other facilities, said Howard Springsteen, president of the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department.
Tickets to the fire department’s centennial gala cost $75. To purchase tickets or make a donation, visit www.vvfd.org or write to the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 1115, Vienna, VA 22183.