Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 9, 1995 TAG: 9506090061
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-11 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: B. LYNN WILLIAMS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Medium
Recently, Wade and other longtime members have strolled down memory lane as the department prepares to celebrate its golden anniversary Saturday at the fire hall.
When he joined the department, no one had training and "we just fought fire with a raincoat and a helmet," Wade said. Today, members must have a specified amount of state training and serve a type of apprenticeship for three months. Wade said that today's firefighters also receive better gear than a raincoat.
The Pearisburg Fire Department developed from a merger between the Liberty Fire Company No. 1, formed in the Fort Branch area in early 1944, and a civilian defense unit operating simultaneously in Pearisburg.
Since neither group had the number of members required by the state - about 30 - they joined forces. The Pearisburg department received its charter Jan. 22, 1945.
The first officers were: C.J. Taylor, president; M.B. Pennington, vice president; V.E. Fields, secretary-treasurer; Carl Ray, chief; and T.J. Cyfers, assistant chief.
All the original officers, with the exception of Taylor, are deceased. Kent Pennington, with 49 years of service, became the second chief. He joined in 1946 and vividly recalls the department's biggest fires. Kyle Burk has given 48 years of service.
Pennington and Wade remember the department's four locations and early vehicles.
According to Wade, the first building was a tiny structure. From a worn newspaper clipping, it looked to be no larger than the Pembroke Library, which is one of the smallest libraries in Virginia. Pennington said that the department's first truck was a 1936 Ford pickup.
In 1950, firemen added more equipment just in time to fight one of the town's biggest fires, the Witten building blaze, which caused more than $100,000 damage.
During the next three years, a number of big fires occurred. The biggest one destroyed the Cut-Rate Drug Store, John's Lunch, the A.D. Gerberch building and the American Legion Hall in 1953, according to Pennington and Wade.
"It started in the American Legion [building] and spread fast," Wade said.
Firefighters dedicated the current location on Mountain Lake Avenue in 1952. There, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, the 33-member department will celebrate the anniversary of its founding.
Equipment will be displayed, and members will explain how the trucks operate and how the equipment is used, Eddie Kingrea, the department's unofficial historian, said.
Visitors can listen to music as they leaf through scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings, photos and memorabilia from the past. "We're lucky to have as much stuff as we do," Kingrea said about the scrapbooks.
by CNB