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The fire service first started in 1883 when the
Berryville Town Council purchased a horse drawn “hook
and ladder truck” from a manufacturer in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania
John H. Enders was born
July 19, 1862, in Winchester Virginia. Mr. Enders moved
to Berryville in 1892. Mr. Enders started the John
H. Enders Funeral Home
and was a funeral director and master furniture maker.
Mr. Enders was the originator and loyal supporter of
many carnivals and bazaars. John H. Enders saw a need
for an organized fire department. In March 1900,
“Captain John”, as he would become known, and the
town council organized the Berryville Fire Department.
His untiring efforts allowed the town to acquire the
finest firefighting equipment. In 1926, with Captain
John’s help the first piece of motorized fire
apparatus was purchased, a 1926 Seagrave pumper. It was
housed in Mr. Enders Funeral home. Mr. Enders was a
resident of Berryville for just under 40 years. Captain
John died Friday June 23, 1933 in Berryville at his home
of a heart ailment. It was not until after his death
that the Berryville Fire Department was named John H.
Enders Fire Company. Many things were said by his peers
in the newspaper at the time of his death. “No citizen
in Clarke County is better known than Captain John”,
“Always helped in a quiet way”, “People always had
a high degree of respect for him”. Captain Johns son
Charles J. Enders was born June 28, 1895 and was also a
funeral director and a member of the fire company, he
died August 10, 1989.
Members of the fire company served as honorary
pallbearers.
In 1935 a Firehouse was built on East Main Street a
couple of doors up from the John H. Enders Funeral Home.
It has been used as offices for The Town of Berryville
and its Police Department since 1958. A new four bay
firehouse was built at 9 South Buckmarsh Street, which
is the current location of the firehouse today. A 1938
Seagrave and a 1949 Mack pumper were brought up from the
old building to the new building. This new four bay
building would take care of the needs of the company for
many years.
In
1958 a new Mack pumper was purchased. After many years
of providing assistance to the local Red Cross using a
station wagon ambulance to transport sick and injured
people to the hospital a Rescue Squad was formed in
1962, and it became the John H. Enders Fire Company and
Rescue Squad. A new ambulance was purchased. In 1963 an
addition to the building was made for offices, bunk room
for rescue duty crews, meeting room and kitchen. In 1965
another Mack pumper was ordered to replace the 1938 Seagrave.
The rescue squad served the whole county and as calls
grew so did the need for an additional ambulance. The
members of the company purchased a new 1967 Chevrolet
suburban and with the craftsmanship of carpenters,
electricians, and mechanics designed and built a second
ambulance. In 1971 a International Intern Ambulance was
purchased from Clarke
County Motors in
Berryville to replace a worn out 1963 International
ambulance. In 1976 a new state of the art Mack custom
pumper with a five man canopy cab was purchased to
replace the 1949 Mack. The 1949 Mack was sold and
repurchased by the company several times. One of the
members of the company purchased the Mack several years
ago for $1,949.00. In 1977 a new Chevrolet van type
ambulance was purchased to replace the suburban. In 1979
a new Springfield van type ambulance was purchased with
a grant from the Virginia Rescue Squad assistance fund
to replace the 1971 model. In 1980 a new Mack MB Pierce
1250 gallon Tanker/Pumper was purchased to replace the
1958 Mack pumper. 1984 a Ford Van McCoy-Miller ambulance
was purchased to replace the 1977. In 1988 the company
obtained the Counties first ladder truck, a 1967
Seagrave 100 foot tiller drawn aerial. This ladder truck
was donated to the company by the Fairfax County,
Virginia Fire & Rescue Department. Due to the
increasing calls for ambulance assistance a third
ambulance was added, a 1988 Chevrolet Type I walk-thru.
This was the companies first box type ambulance.
Currently a fleet of eleven vehicles are maintained for
emergency response.
Seeing
the need for additional space for new apparatus an
addition was added in 1986 with five additional bay
spaces, offices, social hall and large kitchen.
A
large bell was used in the Firehouse on East Main street
to call meetings together and for special occasions. The
bell was moved several years ago to the firehouse on
Buckmarsh Street. In 2002 a brick structure was built in
the front of the station for the bell to be displayed
along with two new flag poles.
A
fire siren has been a long history of the fire company
in notifying its members of calls. Originally the fire
siren was on the roof of an apartment building on Main
street that is currently Berryville Pharmacy. When the
new firehouse was built at 9 South Buckmarsh Street the
siren was moved to a pole outside the station. The siren
is still used today to alert members and the public of
an emergency. Many of the residents still admire the
siren when it is sounded each Saturday at noon for a
test. In 2002 one of the new residents having lived here
one year complained about the siren. The citizens
rallied behind the Company and Town Council to keep the
siren. Washington’s
Channel 5 News team
came out to the meeting night and aired a very good
segment with interviews of the citizens and members. It
still sounds today and since then the complainant has
moved out of the area.
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