OWL VFD Celebrates 85th Anniversary

September 2023 marks the 85^th year of service for Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton Volunteer Fire Department (OWL VFD). This remarkable milestone is an outstanding achievement, considering that many volunteer fire and rescue departments have discontinued their service in the past several years due to a lack of volunteers. OWL VFD’s many contributions are woven into local history. Community leaders’ efforts established a high-quality organization and planted seeds for what would become the Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue.

In 1938, Members of the Town of Occoquan Council began discussing the need for a fire department because, at the time, none existed in eastern Prince William County or between Alexandria and Fredericksburg. However, it wasn’t until September 16^th, during a meeting held at Occoquan Elementary School, then Occoquan High School, that local leaders voted to create a volunteer fire department. Eight days later, Henry P. Davis motioned to call it the O.W.L. Fire Department. The letters are O for Occoquan, W for Woodbridge, and L for Lorton. Dr. Charles S. Pierce was elected President, and Fred M. Lynn, the same man honored with his name on the middle school on Prince William Parkway, was elected Chief.

In the beginning, if you lived in the Town of Occoquan, you and your family were likely involved with serving the community with OWL VFD in some way. The department continues to welcome local residents to join. To this day, OWL VFD’s reputation of quality training and top-notch apparatus has lured community members from all over the DC Metro Area to serve in our ranks as certified first responders.

In 1966, Prince William County hired Selby Jacobs as the Fire Marshall. Jacobs hired paid firefighters assigned to stations based on the number of calls received. Pete McCallum was assigned to Station 2-2 (now Station 12). For the county’s third firefighter, the county looked to the OWL VFD ranks. Norman Stone, an OWL VFD member, was hired in 1968 and assigned to station 2-1 (now station 2). Unlike McCallum, Stone’s salary was graciously paid from OWL VFD’s fire levy money. The paid firefighters would stay at the station throughout the day. When an emergency call was received, they would take the apparatus to the scene where volunteers who responded from their homes or paid jobs would meet him.

Recently, the department raised a flag at the stations and added new stickers on the apparatus to celebrate 85 years of service. Chief Wayne Haight sent an email to members that stated, “When you come to duty, take a minute and look at the new department flag on the flag pole, and remember why you do what you do and that you are making a difference. On the apparatus that has a handrail, there is a smaller flag. Be proud of what you are doing. Never forget the members who started this GREAT ORGANIZATION back in 1938.”

President Dave Williams echoed the Chief’s comments by adding, “This department has always been about community service and innovation to enable us to provide better fire and rescue service. The members of this department consistently put in approximately 40,000 hours a year without compensation.  After 85 years, OWL VFD is still an outstanding fire and rescue department.”

Other historical milestones in OWL VFD’s history include:

• 1938 – Town of Occoquan leased a building in Occoquan near Mill Street and Poplar Alley to serve as OWL VFD’s first fire station.
• 1938 – John Leary, a citizen, donated $300 towards the $1,600 needed to purchase a used 1918 Type 75 triple combination pumping engine from American La France and Foamite Industries, Inc. in Eastport, Maryland.
• 1940 – OWL VFD is Incorporated receives charter.
• 1941 – Junior program established to allow 12 and 17-year-olds, with consent from their parents, to become members and begin training as firefighters.
• 1944 – OWL VFD requested the Board of County Supervisors provide line-of-duty death and accident insurance for firefighters.
• 1946 – Leary Lumber Company building in Occoquan is purchased and remodeled to house a brush truck and civil defense unit.
• 1946 – Five members are sent to the Firefighter’s Short Course at the University of Maryland.
• 1950 – Established Rescue Squad to provide Emergency Medical Services
• 1951 – Members attended a standard and advanced First Aid Course hosted by Engine Company 4 in Arlington, VA.
• 1956 – John and Lois Wertzberger donated a lot on Route 1 to build Station 2-2 (eventually known as Station 12)
• 1957 – Betty Limerick begins dispatching emergency calls from her home. During daytime hours, calls were received at Lynn’s store in Occoquan. Limerick, the wife of former Chief Warren Limerick, Sr., would serve as the night dispatcher. Eventually, she answered calls for help 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When a call came in, Limerick activated the sirens that notified volunteers to respond. When Prince William County Administration created a Department of Fire and Rescue in 1966, a 911 system was installed, and dispatchers were hired. Still, Limerick was added to the payrolls to continue dispatching OWL VFD Units.
• 1958 – ”Friends Station” (Station 2-2, eventually known as Station 12) was dedicated.
• 1960s – OWL VFD’s First Tech Rescue Squad is put in service. An increase in auto accident calls due to the growth in the area’s population and the reconstruction of Interstate 95 to meet urban interstate standards signified the need for apparatus that could provide technical rescue services.
• 1966 – Maurice Botts, a citizen, generously contributed to acquiring land on F Street in Woodbridge for the new home of Station 2-1 (eventually known as Station 2).
• 1966 – Riverview Marina Apartments fire. The review of the incident led to the purchasing of a ladder truck to serve better the growing number of taller buildings in the area.
• 1968 – OWL VFD places Tiller in-service – first tractor-drawn aerial truck in PWC
• 1969 – “Botts Station” (Station 2, formerly Station 2-1) is dedicated.
• 1970s – Marianne DeConti became the first female firefighter at OWL VFD and in Prince William County. In 1974 she was the first woman delegate at the Virginia State Firefighter’s Annual Convention.
• 1972 – Women were allowed to join as operational members. They become certified in First Aid. Many become ambulance drivers for the county-paid cardiac technicians.
• 1973 – Switched to yellow fire apparatus as a safety measure.
• 1980 – Station 14, OWL VFD’s third station, located on Hedges Run Drive in Lake Ridge, is dedicated.
• 1990 – Replacement for Station 12, located on Montgomery Avenue in Woodbridge, is dedicated.
• 1990s – Paid staff worked until 6:00 p.m. Volunteers started duty at 6:00 p.m., staying overnight at the station until paid staff came back on duty in the morning.
• 2001 – Mobile Air and Light Unit responds to Pentagon
• 2002 – Boat 512 is built by MetalCraft Marine. OWL VFD Members contributed to its design and christened it “Fire Storm.” MetalCraft Marine creates the Fire Storm series and begins receiving orders from other departments for the unique fire and rescue boat.
• 2006 – OWL VFD begins raising funds for St. Baldrick’s Children’s Cancer Foundation, raising more than $400,000 in 17 years.
• 2010 – Mobile Ventilation Unit designed by the late OWL VFD Chief Ricky Arrington and Dale City Volunteer Chief Chris Hool is put in service. The unit is a fan mounted on a Ford F-450 truck chassis, manufactured by Super Vac and powered by a Subaru aircraft engine that uses high-octane gasoline. The design concept came from seeing fans mounted on vehicles used by railroads to ventilate tunnels.

The concept of community members coming together to answer the call for help is noble. OWL VFD is proud to continue serving and providing cost savings to the community.

OWL VFD will hold a private celebration for its members and celebrate online throughout September. To learn more or to join or donate, visit www.owlvfd.org