A house fire can be pointed to as the likely impetus for the founding of the East Farmington Volunteer Fire Department, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
“There was a house fire in 1944,” said Gary Petersen, who has 45 years of volunteer service with the department. “Unfortunately, West Hartford eventually had to come put it out. By then, it was a total loss. A group of men, at that time, got together to have their first meeting, which was March 26, 1944.”
Wilfred Brown - who hosted the first meeting at his house - was the department’s first chief. Petersen’s own grandfather was among the founding members. And his father and uncle were also both past chiefs at the department.
“They had the meeting, they gave out different assignments, and they ended up building a firehouse,” Petersen said.
The first truck was donated by Martin Arens. The truck was stored in Arens’ garage until the Woodruff Road firehouse was built in 1945.
In those early years, the department raised funds for expenses by hosting dances, suppers, parties, assessments, loans, and gifts. In 1948, the Town Council allotted $400, helping the department cover necessary costs. In 1959, the town took on full responsibility for the department’s expenses.
Though that remains to be the case, the department still hosts certain community activities to help raise extra funds, like a pancake breakfast and a plant sale. The department’s 26th annual Easter plant sale will be held from April 18 through April 20 at station one, at 94 South Road, and station two, at 112 Farmington Ave. The sale begins at 9 a.m. each day.
The department’s current firehouse was built in 1963 and remains to be their central hub in that end of Farmington.
“A lot has changed,” Petersen said. “We came from having a donated truck and earning their own money before the town started putting in money to help the department.”
The types of calls have changed now too, since the department largely responds to medical calls. It started responding to those calls in 1991.
“That was the result of a need we saw in this end of the town,” said Bonnie Sudell, who has 39 years of experience as a volunteer firefighter with the department. “At that time, the Tunxis House fire department were responding to medical calls on this side of town. We saw the 15 to 20 minute response as excess, so we worked towards getting enough EMTs to be able to respond.”
Sudell holds her own place in the department’s history, as she became the first female firefighter in department history in 1981.
“I was looking for some way to serve the community,” Sudell said. “This seemed to be a very hands-on opportunity to do that. I think it’s very important to give back."
Both her and Petersen live in East Farmington, making their time as volunteer firefighters important to them in a way that it connects to helping the people they live alongside.
“It’s been a great way to meet people,” Petersen said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s fun too.”
“You see people at their worst possible moment and you’re hopefully able to help them in a moment of distress,” Sudell said.
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