The HISTORY of DLVFRD
The story of Dunn Loring began with a meeting of sixteen men at the residence of Mr. Merle Clifford on May 11, 1942. The purpose of the meeting was to gain support for the formation of a new community fire company and all votes were ultimately cast in favor of the initiative. Impromptu elections were also held to appoint temporary officers and Merle Clifford was elected the first President and Chief. Preliminary bylaws, modeled after those of the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department, were adopted and the Dunn Loring Auxiliary Fire Company came into being.
In those days, Fairfax County required any organization desiring to be an independent fire department to possess a firehouse and two fire engines. Lacking all of the above, the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department agreed to sponsor Dunn Loring until the time came that the requisite resources could be obtained. Thus, Dunn Loring was to be known as an auxiliary fire company of the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department.
To help get it started, Vienna loaned a pickup truck for the company’s use. And after many efforts to secure another fire engine, the Civil Defense Administration donated the company’s first fire engine in 1943; a Chevrolet pumper. However, since the company still did not have a building to house the pumper, President Clifford volunteered to house it in his service station, Clifford’s Garage, located at Leesburg Pike and Dunn Loring Road (now Old Gallows Road).
In October of that year, Mr. G. Albert Merry donated a parcel of land to the members of Dunn Loring located at the intersection of Gallows Road and Hunter Road (now known as Cedar Lane). It was also during that month’s membership meeting that discussion of a ladies club occurred, with the club's intention of supporting the fire company (to be later known as the Dunn Loring Ladies Auxiliary).
Just a month later, in November of 1943, Dunn Loring made its first engine purchase, quickly followed by a number of significant updates: work began on the first firehouse in 1944, including the additions of a cistern and well to provide water for the tanks onboard the fire engines. And in April of 1945, an agreement was signed with the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company to provide direct telephone connection to the siren mounted above the firehouse. This service allowed a relay to trip the siren calling the volunteers to service.
The first record of the total number of fire calls surfaced in the December 1944 membership meeting minutes: 50 alarms rang, of which 21 occurred in March alone. It was reported that an average of seven men responded to each call, with an average of 250 volunteer hours per firefighter for the year. By the summer of 1946, the ranks of the company had increased to 100 members.
Efforts began to secure a second pumper for the company, thus providing Dunn Loring the opportunity to become an independent department. By January of 1947, the process was complete and a charter was sent to the State Corporate Commission in Richmond for approval. Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department, Incorporated had officially come into existence.
It wasn't until 1951 that Dunn Loring received its designation as Fairfax County Fire Company 13. Today, the department operates two fire engines, two medical transport units, a specialty rehabilitation unit, and a utility vehicle out of the fire station built in 1968 and added on to in 1989; the very same location as the original 1944 structure.
With over 80 members volunteering in excess of 20,000 hours of service to the community annually, the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department (DLVFRD) continues its tradition of providing premiere fire, rescue, and emergency medical services alongside the other members of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.
DLVFRD is also a member of the Fairfax County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association (FCVFRA), a partnership of the 12 volunteer fire and rescue departments in Fairfax County. Volunteers in these 12 departments are full partners with the County fire department career staff, providing emergency services in and around Fairfax County.