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      History of the RVFD 

  The Rapidan Volunteer Fire Department formally organized June 2, 1978, in response to a tragic house fire on October 26th 1977  in the village of Rapidan. After months of fund raising, the land was purchased and ground was broken for the building of a firehouse in July of 1979. Lewis Pannill of Pannill Construction Company and volunteers worked on the project for the next year and a half moving in December 1980.

   More training and fundraising went on to purchase a working fire truck. On the evening of February 14, 1981 the equipment necessary to equip the truck for a training session was finally acquired (the training session was to be held after church the next day!). Tragedy struck in the early morning hours as fireman responded to a working house fire in the village. Though the house was lost the volunteers of RVFD were able to save an adjoining house from the fire as mutual aid companies responded to the call.

   In the years after, the fire-house was expanded in 1982 with the addition of a second story and in1995 two additional bays were added as well as another second story addition. This latter addition was completed just prior to the "Flood of '95", which is probably the most challenging call in company history to date. It was one of the most challenging calls due to the station being surrounded by water on all access routes out of the village. Limited mobility and flooded roads kept the trucks at bay until the water began to subside. RVFD helped the families in the village dig mud out their homes and used ventilation fans to dry what we could to help prevent molding. Many of the families stayed at the firehouse during the night hours while the water was still rising.

 Madison County Rescue Squad Captain H. Ross Shifflette approached the company with the idea of establishing a first responder medical program in1989. The company accepted the offer and training was provided along with an ambulance. Certification was completed in 1990. Eight years later the medical program was upgraded to a Basic/Advanced Life Support transporting ambulance service.

  This provided another transporting unit to the counties of Culpeper, Madison, and Orange area and dramatically increased the call load in a very short time to 7-8 times the prior level. This load on the aging ambulance prompted RVFD to apply for grant monies for a new ambulance that was approved and placed in service in September of 2001.

  The year of 2003 put RVFD in the middle of hurricane Isabel. The storm brought power outages, flooding, high winds, and downed trees during September 18th through the 22nd. 2003 finished with the department logging over 1000 calls for the year. A company first. On September 17th of 2004 the area saw a strong cold front collide with the remains of tropical storm Frances which spilled heavy rains and spawned tornados in the area. Including an F-1 tornado that struck near the Carpenter Seed Cleaning plant at Mitchells, Virginia. The storm damaged numerous homes in the area.

  In early 2007 the department purchased a very praised unit known as Rescue Engine 10. This massive unit doubles as a tanker as well as our First Responder medic unit. In early 2008 we added our newest piece which is Brush 10. A wonderful brush unit that is amazing in action. The year 2009 would bring more challenges to the department as the economy has slipped downhill. We are working hard to build fundraisers that are profitable and enjoyable to keep our department running smoothly. From dinners and Bingo, to festivals and Chili Cook Off’s, we keep busy.

  The current challenge faced by Rapidan VFD and all of the other volunteer FD/RS in the area is an ever increasing call load as the area becomes more urban and recruitment of members falls short to meet these demands.

  The history of the Rapidan Volunteer Fire Department is one of men and women from near and far that have come together for the single purpose of providing to the community of Rapidan and the adjoining counties of Culpeper, Madison, and Orange their very best in fire and emergency medical services.