Today we are back in downtown Herndon checking out the historic Herndon Fire Station.
The original building was built back in 1950 but was torn down in 2016. The cornerstone from the building was saved.
In 2017, a new two-story fire house was re-built in the same location. The new fire house also has underground parking and facilities for housing female fire fighters.
In the photograph below, you will notice the historic plaque on the side of the fire station and the three open bays.
There is also a pink water dish for dogs.
I wonder if they have a Dalmatian dog?
Herndon’s Big Fire of 1817
One can not talk about this history of the historic Herndon Fire House, without mentioning the Big Fire which happened during the night of March 22, 1817.
At that time there was no fire house or fire fighting plans for Herndon. The Harrison Livery Stable on Station Street caught on fire. The fire quickly spread to other homes. People tried to stop the fire by pouring water out windows without much luck. The fire then caught homes on fire on Pine Street.
Below is a photograph of the historic plaque on the Big Fire. This plaque is located in front of a restaurant. There is also a map of the Big Fire on the plaque.
The fire was heading to the Congregational Church.
There were few options left to save the church.
To stop the fire, they dynamited the home next to the church.
This action saved the church.
In the end, a portion of Station Street and much of Pine Street burned. Fourteen homes and business were lost that night.
This fire got the attention of town’s people and they began to think about fire prevention.
Herndon’s first fire tools consisted of a ladder and 50 fire buckets.
Over the years, the people of Herndon purchased fire equipment and fire trucks. Fire houses were, also, built.
The photograph below shows the Fairfax County, Herndon Station, No. 4.
The Herndon Volunteer Fire Department Plaque is located on the Fire Station.
Ending Comments on the Historic Herndon Fire Station Blog
Every well run town needs a fire house, fire trucks, and of course, brave fire fighters.
The information for this blog article came from the internet and from an article entitled, “Remembering Herndon’s History” by Barbara Glakas.
As a child, did you want to be fire fighter? I remember in grade school, every year the local fire company would come and give a talk on fire prevention. They would also give us a plastic red fire hat and sometimes a red fire badge. We, also, usually got a Smokey the Bear booklet.
Who was Smokey the Bear?
Smokey Bear was a campaign the U. S. Forest Service and Ad Council came up in 1944. Smokey Bear was a symbol for their forest fire prevention plan.
Then in the spring of 1950’s, forest fire fighters found a baby bear cub who survived a forest fire by climbing up a tree. The forest fire fighters were so fascinated there was a real Smokey Bear that the bear cub became quite famous.
An interesting fact is the bear’s name is Smokey Bear not Smokey the Bear. The word “the” was added to his name to help the tuneage of the song.
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