The Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
The Falls Church City Council passed a resolution supporting the volunteers on Monday. It came just a few days before the specific date — Feb. 27, 1925 — that the fire department was established.
Council member Debora Schantz-Hiscott, the mother of a volunteer firefighter, read the resolution. In response, leaders of the department promised continued service to local residents.
“We look forward to performing our vital mission for the next 100 years, and beyond,” said Adriana Palacios, chair of the department’s board.
More than a dozen operational and administrative volunteers were on hand. They listened as Council members lauded the history of the department as well as its Ladies Auxiliary, founded in 1927 to support victims of fire in Falls Church, Arlington and Fairfax County.
The public heard from the department’s chief, Dave Dougherty, who laid out what residents could do to protect themselves from fire impacts.
“Please make sure you have your smoke detectors,” he said. “Make sure you can ‘hear the beep when you sleep.'”
Dougherty also urged families to practice fire drills at home, and set a meetup area outside to quickly determine everyone was out of the home in case of fire.
The resolution also honored Frank David Hinkins, the lone member of the department to have died while performing his duties. Hinkins was killed in 1934 responding to what turned out to be a false alarm.
Since 1940, Falls Church’s volunteers have collaborated with Arlington’s paid firefighting department. In 2001, a new fire station owned by the city and staffed by city volunteers and Arlington firefighters opened in East Falls Church, where the two localities come together.
While the volunteer department traces its roots back a century, firefighting efforts in Falls Church have a longer history, according to the department’s website.
In 1898, what was then the Falls Church Town Council approved a special levy to purchase and position three chemical fire trucks across the community. Before that, residents had organized themselves into fire brigades, which passed buckets of water hand to hand when the need arose.
City Loses Out on Preservation Grant: Efforts by Falls Church city officials to win state dollars to renovate the historic Cherry Hill Farmhouse have fallen short.
Members of the city’s Historical Commission and City Council late last year sought about $200,000 in funding through the Virginia 250 preservation effort to aid in roof replacement and installation of a modern HVAC system at the 19th-century farmhouse, located on Park Avenue.
The project was not among those selected by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, city leaders said on Monday (Feb. 24).
State leaders set aside a pool of about $20 million for preservation efforts across the Old Dominion, part of an initiative supporting the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Fifty years ago, Falls Church leaders chose restoration of the farmhouse as the community’s contribution to the nation’s bicentennial celebrations.
Council members on Feb. 24 were informed there were no immediate problems to be addressed in the building, but both the roof and ventilation system were nearing the end of their respective lifespans.
Other challenges include cracks in the walls and foundation issues, city officials said when the grant was sought last year.
The farmhouse, a popular spot for weddings and community events, is open to the public for guided tours on Saturday mornings and at select other times.
Support for the farmhouse could be included when City Manager Wyatt Shields next month presents an updated capital-improvement program for Council consideration.
