The FVFD’s unofficial historian is Tom Odom. Mr. Odom, who served 40 years as a volunteer firefighter and now is the City’s fire inspector, says Fairhope’s department was the first on the Eastern Shore. “The Eastern Shore Fire Department, responsible for fighting fires from Spanish Fort south to Mullet Point, was organized in 1936 under Jack Titus. It became the Fairhope Volunteer Fire Department in 1938 with William S. “Bill” Funk as the first Chief.”

According to Odom, the city’s first fire station was downtown on Section Street, at the site of the current city Welcome Center. At the time, the building also housed the police department and the generating plant for the city-owned utilities. Odom said a siren called firefighters to action.

“That worked pretty good when the town was small enough then for everyone to hear it,” he recalled. “But we didn’t have very much protective gear in the early days, so the fellows who lived closest to the station got the slickers, and the rest of us just showed up in our regular clothes.”

The FVFD grew with the addition of Leo Keller Station No. 1, on Ingleside Drive (built in the mid-1960s and enlarged in the 1980s), Roy White Station No. 2 on Thompson Hall Road (also the site of the department's classroom and training facility) was opened in 1993, and Les Bung Station No. 3 at the Fairhope Municipal Airport, located on Baldwin County Road 32, just south of the city was opened in 1999.

The current FVFD vehicle fleet includes 5 Engines, 2 Rescues, 1 100' Aerial Ladder Truck, 1 Crash Truck (Airport), 4 Brush Trucks, 3 Service Vehicles and 2 Boats. There is also the antique fire truck "Hoganville" which is on display at the Fairhope Museum.

As the department grows, training remains a top priority. Firefighters attend a minimum of 72 hours of training a year, but most do much more than that. We offer our firefighters outside training at the Alabama State Fire College, the National Fire Academy in Maryland, and elsewhere.

In 2012 the FVFD responded to 658 calls for service. These calls included Structure Fires, Vehicle Fires, Grass/Brush Fires, Medical Calls, and other Misc. calls.

In 2009 FVFD began an Explorer post for teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18. The Explorers are a Learning for Life program which means it's designed to give young people an idea of what the fire service does. The Explorers are trained to assist with non dangerous tasks on fire scenes. Since it's inception at the FVFD 10 Explorers have joined the FVFD after turning 18.

People wishing to burn leaves/limbs may call 251 233-5181 to obtain a burn permit. The open burn season is from October 1 until May 1 each year. From May 1 until September 30 there is an annual burn ban imposed by ADEM for several Counties including Baldwin.

For more information about the FVFD, call 990-0143 (Fire Station 1) or 251 233-5181 and leave a message or visit the Department Website: www.fairhopevfd.org