Pictured are all six currently living Fire Chiefs of the Lexington Fire Department representing leadership from 1987 to present day. From left: Fire Chief Jason Wells, Kristin Chilton, Keith Jackson, Robert “Bob” Hendricks, William “Bill” Holleran and Gary McComas.
The inception of the Lexington Fire Department has been traced back to this month in history, 150 years ago!
Firefighting in the early days required that all able-bodied men, often aided by women, show up to form a bucket brigade. The men who were part of the Lexington Fire Company, organized along the lines of a militia company, turned out to the fire with buckets, hooks, axes and ladders to fight each blaze.
Following two separate fires that destroyed multiple city blocks in August 1871, the Lexington Fire Company was reorganized and the Lexington Fire Department as we know it was created on Sept. 7, 1871.
The common theme of the fire service has been responding to the real threat of property loss, injury and death caused by fire. Our history shows intentional efforts to evolve with the changing needs of our community in order to always provide the best and most relevant services possible.
At present, the Lexington Fire Department continues to serve as the Commonwealth’s largest department providing progressive, all-hazard services to best meet the needs of our growing population. Operating out of 24 fire stations, our firefighters are all IFSAC I/II, EMT-B, and HazMat Ops certified. Additionally, we provide full-time fire prevention, education, and investigation programs, as well as structural and ARFF firefighting, advanced life support EMS, hazardous materials, and technical rescue services. During the past five years, we have responded to over 304,000 local emergencies.
We are looking forward to a two-week-long celebration of our department and its history. The line-up of events runs from Sept. 19 – Oct. 3, 2021. Visit the LFD Facebook page for more information.
150th LFD Anniversary Events
- Sept. 19 – Fire Truck Munster
- Sept. 19 – LFD Parade
- Sept. 21 – Fire Station #4 open house
- Sept. 25 – Fire Station #3 homecoming
- Sept. 28 – Blood drive
- Sept. 29 – Fire Station #24 open house
- Oct. 3 – Fire Prevention and Wellness Festival
