F.C. Volunteer Fire Department Holds Open House, Celebrates Century of Service
For Fire Prevention Week – and in celebration of 100 years of safeguarding Falls Church and Arlington County “with dedication and community pride” – the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department (FCVFD), held a cheerful and informative Open House, Saturday, Oct. 11, attended by The Falls Church Independent.
Buzzing with excitement, Fire Station 6 at 6950 Little Falls Rd., Arlington, hosted many enthusiastic families with children popping in to see shiny red firetrucks, ambulances, and sheriffs’ all-terrain vehicles up close, enjoy catered treats and historical displays, shoot the fire hose, and learn all about the station as well as how to help with home fire prevention.
Shared with the Arlington County Fire Department, the FCVFD at Station 6 is served by some 40 local volunteers who’ve already clocked “2,047 standby hours, 2,687 training hours, 1235 administrative hours, and 109 public education hours” so far this year. Around 15 of those volunteers work on the Operations side as firefighters or medics dispatched on emergency calls, while the rest serve on FCVFD’s Administrative side in a wide variety of critical support roles – from public education, to payroll, training, and web site maintenance.
Under a shared agreement, the City of Falls Church owns Station 6, one fire engine, and Truck 106 (each held in two dedicated bays of the firehouse), provides budgetary support for operations including vehicle and facilities maintenance and supplies, and splits personnel costs for career staff with Arlington County. In turn, Arlington County also performs maintenance of all fire department vehicles and provides equipment and supply needs through the Arlington County Fire Department’s logistics system.
A Century of Service
Historical displays mounted at the Open House recounted the FCVFD’s proud century of service, emphasizing "community, courage, and service."
Prior to the Department’s official state incorporation on February 27, 1925, “residents battled fires using bucket brigades.” Horse-drawn and hand-drawn chemical carts and trucks were used to extinguish small fires, but little could be done to quell larger blazes.
In 1923, the Falls Church Committee on Fire Protection described local fire-fighting as “so grossly inadequate to protect a town of this size against the menace of fire as to appear ridiculous.”
While, in 1914, the town had purchased “Old Tom” – a Model T Ford on display at the Open House and retro-fitted with fire-fighting chemical tanks – the impressive new vehicle now owned by the FCVFD was of no use “when the Eagle House [in Falls Church] caught fire in 1923.” Why? Because the “firefighters could not find the fire apparatus.” It was “buried under several tons of lumber at the Falls Church Lumber Company in East Falls Church,” the FCVFD’s website says. So the Eagle House burned to the ground.
Following several such disasters, “town leadership agreed that a new fire organization needed to be established and a proper fire station needed to be constructed.”
So, 1934, the “original firehouse station was constructed” on the “border between Arlington County and the City of Falls Church.” Due to the Great Depression, however, plans for “an ornate multistory facility” had to be scrapped and “only the first floor was fully built.” Later, a “garage was added in the back, and the two ambulances were positioned there.” Eventually, a “two-story building with an office for volunteers was added.” In July of that year, however, “Frank David Hinkins became the department’s first and only line-of-duty death when he was killed while responding to a false alarm,” the department’s website says.
Following the Second World War, the FCVFD acquired “larger motorized pumpers [firetrucks] carrying hundreds of feet of [fire]hose” as well as “aerial ladder vehicles that could be pivoted, raised, and extended to any position needed.” As the City of Falls Church grew rapidly, firefighting apparatus “grew in size, and specialized ambulance vehicles became more commonplace.” By the end of the 1950s, the City of Falls Church “provided funding to Arlington County” to “support full-time firefighters who could cover weekdays” while FCVFD volunteers “covered events and weekend shifts.”
In the 1970s and 1980s, the FCVFD experimented with yellow fire engines, but returned to the traditional red by the 1990s.
By the turn of the 21st century, the City of Falls Church and Arlington County had outgrown the original firehouse with only two bays for fire engines in the front and two bays for ambulances in the back. So, the City, the FCVFD, and Arlington County collaborated to build a new station, completed in 2001. Now the jurisdictions had a modern station that “provided space for more apparatus, drive-through capacity to reduce the possibility of collisions, and a new meeting space for hosting community events.”
In the National Spotlight
Shortly after the new station was completed, the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred, putting Fire Station 6 in the national spotlight. Arlington County immediately took jurisdiction over the response to the Pentagon attack and “nearly every station within the county responded, including Station 6,” which became the logistical hub for the crisis response. “First responders were bused to and from the Pentagon, and resources were delivered to the station for staging.”
Today, the FCVFD “serves the needs of our community with EMS support and public education. Fire suppression is handled by neighboring jurisdictions — we continue to share Fire Station 6 with Arlington County firefighters. Each day, members of the ACFD provide coverage for Falls Church with Engine, Truck, and Media 106.” Fire Station 6 “provides a venue for the community to learn about fire and life safety.”
The FCVFD has “evolved over the years but our core values of service and commitment to the community in which we live have remained constant. As we reach our 100th anniversary, we pause to look back and celebrate before embarking on our next century of service.”
Touring the Open House
At a display table, I’m greeted warmly by Jenny Quinn, coordinator for the Santamobile, a perennial favorite fire engine touring the community around Christmastime. Quinn joined the FCVFD only four years ago and has been thrilled by her volunteer work.
Who Runs the Santamobile?
“I was looking for an organization to work with,” she said, “and every year I enjoyed watching the Santamobile going by my house…. I'd see them going on calls and things and helping the community and all of a sudden I went ‘I wonder how I could become a part of that?’ So, I literally got a candy cane from them and then went inside and googled, ‘How to become a member of the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department?’ I started filling out the paperwork right then and told them I was interested, specifically in the Santamobile. And they said, ‘Oh, guess what? We need a new Coordinator!,’ [Laughs]. So, it was a perfect fit… And, I absolutely love it.”
Teasing Quinn about whether she drove the Santamobile, I was surprised by her answer as it indicated just how much safety is always a concern. “No. They wouldn’t let me drive it! [Laughs]. The drivers are specific members of the department. But, we have a very rigorous and structured system and processes for every part of what we do with the Santamobile…. You’d actually be really surprised. There are a lot of safety measures we have in place that people wouldn’t realize. But they’re there…. The children are all around, there’s a lot of narrow streets. When we go out, there are actually a lot of leaves on the streets. And the department members who are handing out candy canes are running behind the engine with leaves and such. And we have a Santa on top of a fire truck going around with a lot of tree branches and wires. We actually scope out every route before it’s driven. There’s a lot that goes into it besides just driving around every night.”
Quinn wants to encourage others to volunteer. “We would love for you to volunteer,” she tells our readers. “There are actually two different avenues for you to volunteer. You can be an Operational member where you can go to EMT school and we have the training. You can become an EMT and you can see how to do that. And you can reach out to us and they can tell you everything you need to know about that. Or – if you don’t have the ability or the desire to do that – you can be an Administrative member like I am. And we have tons of different roles you can do where you don’t have to become an EMT and you don’t have to do that portion of it, but you can still serve the community and the department.”
The Lowdown from FCVFD President Brian Miller
Soon, we encountered the President of the FCVFD, Brian Miller who has to balance weekends and evenings of volunteering with his work as a full-time product manager, or as he says, “a good ol’ keyboard jockey,” at Microsoft. A Falls Church resident, Miller has been volunteering for just under four years at Station 6. “I work a full-time job during the day. So, this is just a way to give back to the community,” he said.
Asked about FCVFD’s structure, Miller says, “I think we’re about 40-ish members right now, Operations plus Administrative. We’re probably about 15 core operational members, ballpark, certified to ride on apparatus and are cleared by Arlington County,” while the rest are Administrative. “We’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so we’ve got all of the treasury duties, secretary duties, all those core functions…. There are lots of ways to serve…. You don’t need to be an EMT to do that. So, if anyone wants to volunteer and come out, we’re always looking for people who have experience or something to offer.”
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the FCVFD is “primarily funded through donations,” Miller said. Though a fraction of the organization’s funding is supported by grants, such as those from Virginia Four-for-Life, “our primary grant vehicle.”
How many staffers does Fire Station 6 support? "Arlington has 10 career staffers here at any given time," Miller said. "You have an ambulance or a medic unit, an engine, and the ladder truck,” while Falls Church has “one ambulance the FCVFD puts up, but we’re not currently staffing an engine for fire.” So, Arlington provides “standard fire and EMS services,” but whenever the FCVFD is in service, the ACFD “gets an additional unit.”
We were curious how many emergency calls Fire Station 6 might get per day. “On any given day when we’re staffing, it could be zero calls or it could be 10 calls,” Miller said. “It’s really just highly variable.”
“There’s typically a medic unit here,” Miller said. “And then there’s always a paramedic on the engine. So, we just staff as Basic Life Support (BLS), but we can deploy with the medic from the engine and the only difference as far as apparatus is the presence of a paramedic and their medicines. We have everything else we need to provide Advanced Life Support (ALS). So we have the medic who hops on with their drug bag and we can operate in an ALS capacity as needed.”
While other volunteer fire stations have their members “on call” at any time, the FCVFD staffs its volunteers on 12-hour shifts, either from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. during the day, or vice versa for the night shift.
While you need to take a medical exam to join the FCVFD, you don’t have to pass a rigorous physical test. “There are no physical requirements for administrative support, including public education, because we do public education events, such as Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops coming by. We do school visits. So, public education has no physical requirements.” Applicants, however, must be at least 18 and able to pass a background check by the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services (VAOEMS).
Miller described his quick path to leadership at the FCVFD. “I joined the department without any EMS experience. So I became an EMT. I’m currently a Driver. And I’m working on my Attendant in Charge (AIC) clearance. The way the ambulance works is you have to have the minimum of a Driver and an AIC. The AIC is the primary patient care provider. And then you have a Driver. So, I’m working on my AIC clearance.”
The Open House fills Miller with joy. “For Fire Prevention Week, all the firehouses in the county are open,” he said. “But, it’s great to get the community out here. We have some great sponsors for support. Whole Foods and Silver Diner are providing food for the community. It’s also great to have the kids come out and get to see the apparatus. You know, little kids love firetrucks and ambulances, right? I think this is a great opportunity for kids to get exposed to an ambulance in a not-scary way."
Serious Question: Does Station 6 Use a Fire Pole?
We were curious if Station 6 has a firefighters’ pole to slide down. So, we asked Miller and here’s our humorous exchange:
FCI: You guys have a fire pole you slide down?
BM: We do, but we don’t use it.
FCI: How come?
BM: It’s dangerous. [Laughs]. I think most of Arlington doesn’t use them. They’ve had a couple of broken feet over the years, so –
FCI: But isn’t that the coolest part of being a firefighter?
BM: Yeah, but, you know the stairs are safe and they just work…. And firefighters and EMTs, we walk, we don’t run. If you don’t get somewhere safely, you can’t help anybody, right?
FCI: Right. So you have to be the model or practice what you preach?
BM: Exactly.
FCI: And the kids are shooting the firehose outside there.
BM: Exactly. So, we’ve got some fun things out here for the kids. In previous years they’ve had a bounce castle. They don’t have that this year though. The liability-conscious side of me is like, ‘That’s alright.’ [Laughs]. But I think it’s great that Arlington and the City of Falls Church support this. We get to open our doors and anybody who wants to come in and see what the equipment is and meet the folks here are going to come. It’s just a great event."
Departmental Diversity
Asked about the diversity of the department, Miller expressed pride that “We have a good mix of men and women and a fairly diverse department. Chief [Kelly] Brown is our first female chief in the history of our department, as of August …. We have people who work in the medical profession by day, we have attorneys, we really have just folks from all walks of life, different age groups. Some folks are pushing retirement. Some folks are in college now. So, a very diverse group.”
“I find this to be very rewarding in that the worst day I’ll ever have in my desk job will never compare to the worst day somebody has as a first responder,” Miller reflected. “So, I find that gives a really good perspective to life. And helps provide some sort of balance.”
“And, I’m glad the community’s able to come out,” he said. “You know, celebrating 100 years of the department, we look forward to doing 100 years more, God willing. And I’m just really grateful to be able to serve the community.”
The Department’s First Woman Chief: Kelly Brown
Soon, Miller introduced us to Chief Kelly Brown who was circulating near the ambulance and mingling amidst screaming kids nearby. Remarkably, Brown has only been with the FCVFD for three and a-half years, but her resume is impressive.
Asked how it feels to be the first women Chief of the department, Brown said, “Well, I think the FCVFD obviously has a long legacy of service to the community and it’s really nice to be a part of that legacy and it also allows our full community to know that if you want to do something like this, you can…. The doors are open. My time in the department is shorter than some – but, even though some have been here longer, as I tell all my new recruits that come in, if you want to be part of the leadership and you want to move up in the program, then we’ll absolutely support you. I mean, no one’s going to hold you back. So the more excited and involved you want to be, there will always be opportunities for you to do that.”
Chief Brown agreed with President Miller on the diversity of the department. “If you just look around here today, we have lots of men, lots of women, lots of young folks who are in college or just got out of college, or folks like me who already had careers and retired-out or have second careers. So, we have a nice gamut of everyone.”
While Brown’s only been with the force just under four years, her career path has given her the leadership skills she needs. “I’m a career Black Hawk helicopter pilot from the United States Army,” she said. “I retired out in 2021 and was looking to do some additional work and came across the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department and said, ‘Hey, I’m very happy to do that.’ I joined the department and became an EMT and just kept progressing through the ranks.”
“I was a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point,” Brown continued. “And then I went into Army Aviation. I’ve flown all over the world in all kinds of places. I’m also a strategist…. as in policy strategy, international strategy, how to move things forward. I’ve been a senior advisor to several ministers, like cabinet-level folks, both overseas, and then to some Secretaries here in the U.S. So, a pretty exciting career.”
But, when Brown started at FCVFD, she was a “straight up rookie with no experience in the fire department,” she said with a laugh. But soon she became a Training and Scheduling Officer and “was the Assistant Chief last year…. So, it shows you can progress up quickly if you have the time and energy to do so.”
Would Brown like a helicopter for the FCVFD? She laughed and said, “Always! It’s good to have a helicopter…. Never say never! But, we need a lovely benefactor to do that, you know.”
Chief Brown appeared moved by the day’s events. “You know, it really just makes us feel proud to be part of the community,” she said. “And it brings a lot of joy that we can be up close with part of the community on a day that’s not their worst day. Because a lot of times, when we get to see members of the community, they’re having a really bad day. And we’re happy to help them with that. But, this is nice because they get to see us when they’re not having a bad day. And it's really cute how the kids come through too and see all the things offered. It also gives them the opportunity to realize we’re all just here to help. We’re not just big and scary.”
Brown was thankful for all of FCVFD’s collaborators. “So, we have the Sheriff’s Department here from the City of Falls Church and we’re great partners with them as well as the Police Department from Falls Church City and then obviously our career side of the house. We’re super tight with ACFD. They’re amazing and we really value and appreciate that relationship…. We’ve been a part of Fire Station 6 for a long time and have such a fantastic relationship with the folks here. I mean, it’s really a pleasure to come in and continue to serve with them.”
In addition to thanking the community, Chief Brown wanted to put out a call for volunteers. “We’re excited and happy to be an integrated part of the community and we really look forward to continuing to serve for the next 100 years and if folks are interested, they’re always welcome to come out.... We’re always ‘building our bench,’ is what I call it. So, we’re constantly building our bench of folks that serve the communities and we’re happy to bring folks in and get you trained up.”
Trustee, V.P., Lieutenant, EMT, and Full-Time Tax Attorney by Day
Soon, Chief Brown introduced us to Trustee, Vice President, “Lieutenant on the Operations Side,” and Volunteer EMT, Justin Miller [no relation to Brian Miller, president.]
“It’s just been really exciting,” Justin Miller, a full-time tax attorney at Freddie Mac said of his six and a-half years of FCVFD service. “I came to the department and I had no formal medical training. So, I had my EMT certification. I learned to operate the ambulance. I can drive it. Now, I’m an officer on it, in charge of patient care. Learned all the fun things we can do here.”
“I’ve got a 12 year-old daughter who’s running around the station right now,” Miller said. “She loves visiting the station, seeing the volunteers, as well as the career folks from Arlington.”
Miller shed light on the wide swath of the region covered by FCVFD’s medics. “Although we sit here on the border of Arlington and Falls Church, with the line sort of running through our station, we respond to Fairfax, McLean, Falls Church, all over Arlington, and depending on where we are, we might get dispatched to the periphery of the county,” Miller said. “And, if we’re dropping someone off or transporting to Inova Fairfax, we may get called out further in Fairfax or even to Alexandria or other parts.”
Not only are the station’s ambulances tracked on GPS, but their medical tablets with patient vitals are as well. “All the units are trackable as well as the iPads where we record our patient reports,” Miller said. “Those are tracked so the County can tell where those are and can dispatch the closest and most appropriate units."
Asked for key pieces of advice Miller gives during Fire Prevention Week, he said, “Some of our key [suggestions] are to have two ways out of any room – two exits. Just in case one of those is blocked by fire or something else that makes it inaccessible to get out. And some of those might not be doors. Some of those might be windows or other things you might not think of. And, check your smoke detectors. Make sure you’ve got operating smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors operating inside. And make sure the batteries are charged so if there’s something that happens when you’re asleep or aren’t paying attention, you can be alerted that something’s an unsafe situation and you can get out and get to safety. Also, know your muster point, where everyone in the household is going to retreat after there’s an alarm or if there’s a fire or if the smoke detector goes off.”
Battery fires are also of increasing concern. “With all the lithium-ion batteries and re-chargeable batteries, as well as basically all the electric cars and the electric battery backups charging now in people’s homes, there’s a lot more of those systems around. They have a lot of built-in protections so they won’t overheat, but you know, things can always go wrong, or you can have an accident where something gets breached and it can start a pretty significant fire. And those are chemical fires and can be very, very difficult to put out. So you really need professional firefighters to deal with those situations.”
For Miller, Open House is always a special day. “It’s very exciting to have the public come see us at our home away from home and to show off all the wonderful things we have here. We’re an all-volunteer department and we respond to all the calls in our community that come our way when we’re on duty and the community basically supports us. As a nonprofit, we rely on the community to pay for our funding and to support all these wonderful things we’re showing off today, our ambulance, our engine that turns into the Santamobile at a very exciting time of year, and all the services we provide – to show those off and show the value to the community we provide and basically thank them for their support of our organization.”
Serving on September 11, 2001
Miller then introduced us to Paul Melnick, a “life member” of the FCVFD with over 20 years of service on both the Operations and Administrative sides.
Melnick told a moving story of how he began his service to the department just days before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “I was operational from around 2001,” Melnick, a local attorney, said. “And 9/11 was one of my first fire calls. After that, I got certified as a firefighter.”
“I was just working in my office that morning and we started getting pages about an airline crash. And then, basically, I got together with some other volunteers and we went to Station 1 on Glebe Road. And I was fortunate enough to be able to take the utility [vehicle] right to the Pentagon. So, I was working logistics the whole day. And that’s like getting supplies, batteries, etc…. I had to push all my appointments to the next day. And the day after that, I was working at the Pentagon on salvage. And that’s getting water out of the building, etc. But, I was here for two days. And, it was really something.”
A Different Sort of Model T Ford
Melnick then took me on a little tour to see “Old Tom,” the department’s cherished 1914 Model T “fire car,” for which he’s been a longtime caretaker.
“Old Tom was built as a Model-T car chassis. So the wheels and frame are the specs of an automobile,” Melnick said. “Then it was sent by an American to France to be outfitted as a ‘fire car.’ So, that’s what it’s called. It’s like a little fire engine. And it has hardwood frames…. The spokes are wood. It’s got a lot of wood components. And the engine, I believe, has four cylinders. [Indicates.] We had the engine completely rebuilt. The whole car was completely re-wired. The transmission was rebuilt. The brakes were re-done. It had a complete going-over mechanically. So, it was perfect. And hopefully it’ll last another 100 years.”
“It was in 1919 that Old Tom was delivered here as a fire unit,” Melnick said. “It’s one of the first motorized pieces of fire apparatus in northern Virginia. It’s like one step beyond the horse-drawn carriage and so forth. It cost $1500 new and I believe there were three installment payments.... It’s kind of funny because, the specs said, it could ‘fit two large men.’ [Laughs]. That’s what it’s supposed to be able to do. And each tank holds 25 gallons of water.... The soda acid just builds the pressure. The reaction is like baking soda or that type of thing. And the lights are actually oil lanterns. Let me show you. Look at this. See it has a wick. Isn’t that neat? I’ve never actually lit it. But, one of these times, maybe for a Halloween parade!”
“I’m teaching another one of our members how to drive Old Tom. He’s around here somewhere. He’s one of the managers of this event. He’s become one of the members of Team Old Tom…. So, he’s one of the main guys I’m working with as far as driving maintenance. But, we’re trying to get more people to be able to drive it. It is kind of intimidating because it’s irreplaceable – but you’ve got to move kind of beyond that to drive it like a regular car.”
Turns out, Old Tom has three pedals. On the right is the brake, in the middle is reverse, and on the left is the clutch. But it only has two speeds, fast and slow. And the throttle’s on the steering wheel. There’s also a hand crank for the siren. And the headlights and the torches for the fire fighters have wicks to burn oil for illumination.
Melnick loves showing off Old Tom. “In addition to life support, public education is one of the biggest things we do,” he said.
A Brand New Volunteer
At the popcorn and hot dog table, we met Kaya Shibuwa, a Life Guard at George Mason University, who’s been a volunteer at FCVFD on the Operations side, only since last month when she was voted in by the Board. “Basically, you have to fill out the application and go through a little interview process. And then in front of the Board, people vote to see if you’re a good candidate or not, and then you’re voted in,” Shibuwa said.
“I’m hoping to get my EMT certification and hopefully by the end of the summer I’ll be done with Recruit School, so we’ll see,” she said. “I’ve wanted to be a volunteer EMT or a firefighter since I was in middle school. My dad was actually one in college and he talks about it all the time. It was a great experience. He was at Virginia Tech. And I definitely want to go into the medical field and thought this was a great way to get some experience and give back to the community.”
Shibuwa describes the team at FCVFD as “amazing.” “I’m still new, but people are still super patient and people are so nice and welcoming. Haven’t had any bad experiences with anyone and everyone’s super great.”
Will Your Kids Be Firefighters?
Outside by one of the fire engines, we met Ami [last name withheld] with her husband and three children, all busy taking in the fire station’s sites. “We actually just happened to be driving by and saw the sign for Open House and all the kids love firetrucks so much, we wanted to come see them today,” Ami said. “They’ve had a great time. They got a tour from a firefighter and he showed them all the equipment and all the different compartments of the fire truck and we got to see the ladder open up and the whole ladder extended which was pretty amazing. And we all got to shoot a fire hose…. that was definitely a highlight. And we did too. My husband and I also got to shoot the water hose…. It’s been a great day and a great event. We’ve been really happy and it’s been unexpected fun.”
Asked if their kids are thinking about becoming firefighters or medics, Ami said, “Probably firefighters because I think the fire hose made them want to do that.”
For more in-depth reporting on FCVFD, see our recent story below:
Christopher Jones
By Christopher Jones
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