Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad, Inc.

06/14/2026

Folks, PLEASE refrain from burning things while drought conditions continue to affect our communities (Gloucester, Mathews, King and Queen, Middlesex, etc.)! Yesterday morning, GVFRS was dispatched to what was described as a brush fire that resulted from a controlled burn that had gotten out of control off of Pinetta Road. What initially appeared to the first arriving unit to be a small area involved, turned into an extremely difficult fire to extinguish! A “Rural Water Supply Operation” was put in place with a “Fill Site” being established at a pond at Sears Sand and Gravel and “Dump Site” being established at the scene utilizing two 3,000+ gallon portable “Drop Tanks”. Three 3,000 gallon Tankers (GVFRS T6, AVFRS T2 and Lower King & Queen’s Vacuum Tanker) along with Engine 61 having a 1,000 gallon water tank “shuttled water” between the Fill Site and scene. GVFRS had a Brush Truck and Engine 10 on scene fighting the blaze with Engine 11 at the Dump Tank supplying water that had been shuttled from the Fill Site that had been established and maintained by Engine 14. Virginia Forestry was called in and their bulldozer was used to create a ditch to contain the fire. This was a very “labor intensive” operation that began before 11 a.m. with the last piece of GVFRS apparatus being returned to service sometime after 4 p.m.

06/11/2026

At our monthly business meeting, Assistant Chief Jon Williams was recognized for 30 years of active service responding to fire, EMS and public service calls from the citizens of, and visitors to Gloucester County. A native of Gloucester, Chief Williams grew up in Naxera. When asked what prompted him to join GVFRS, he replied that “there was a brush fire near my home one day, and I saw all the firefighters working together to put the fire out… this sparked a huge interest for me and here I am today!” Jon joined the Company in 1992. By 1996, he had demonstrated strong leadership potential and then Fire Chief Andy James created the Lieutenant’s position and put him in it becoming the very first Lieutenant the Company had. Two years later and having proved himself as an exceptional line officer, Chief James promoted Williams again to the rank of Captain in 1998! In 2002, Williams was elected by the membership to the position of Assistant Chief for Station 1 and he has been re-elected to that position ever since serving as a Chief Officer for 24 years! (Truth be told, we’ve been a bit tardy with recognizing our members for their years of dedicated volunteer service as this is actually Chief Williams 34th year as a member of the Company!) Pictured to Williams right is Awards Committee Chairman W.L. Johnston.

06/09/2026

IF YOU OWN A 2021 TO 2025 JEEP WRANGLER OR GLADIATOR, STELLANTIS WARNS IT COULD CATCH FIRE AND TO PARK IT AWAY FROM BUILDINGS AND OTHER VEHICLES!

Owners affected by the defect will receive a recall notice in the mail when to take it to the dealer to have the recall rectified. You can read more by clicking the link below:

Stellantis is recalling almost 1.08 million Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators in the U.S. that could catch fire even when they're parked and turned off, federal regulators say.

06/09/2026

At our monthly meeting Robert Healy was recognized for having served the citizens of, and visitors to Gloucester County through his GVFRS membership for 50 years. Healy stated that he “found it an honor and a privilege just to be a member of such an organization.” Robert joined the company in June 1978 at the age of 19, and over the years served in various leadership roles as a captain for three years, vice president of the company for four years and as Assistant Chief of Station 1 for one year. He became a life member in 2022. A dedicated member of our company, Healy not only enjoyed giving back to his community as a member of GVFRS, he also served in the US Coast Guard and Coast Guard Reserve as well as being a school teacher for Gloucester High School for auto mechanics shop. Healy is pictured with Awards Committee Chairman W.L. Johnston receiving his certificate of service award a Life Member Badge.

06/05/2026

At our monthly business meeting, Chief Engineer Gordon Townsend (pictured right) was recognized for having served the citizens of, and visitors to Gloucester County as a member of GVFRS for 55 years! As Chief Engineer, Townsend is responsible for keeping all fire apparatus, medic units and utilities along with the equipment carried on them in proper working order. He not only tends to maintaining our fleet, he also maintains the breathing air compressors in our three stations along with making sure everything else is in top shape! This man is a true genius having an almost encyclopedic memory and vast knowledge about almost everything mechanical. If he doesn’t know the answer to a question immediately, the next time you see him he will have researched the issue and have a full explanation and answer. Over the years, Townsend has saved our company untold thousands of dollars by making necessary repairs himself instead of us having to send broken equipment out for repairs. Townsend continues to actively tend to these duties as well as responding to emergency calls! Pictured to his left is Awards Committee Chairman W.L. Johnston.

06/03/2026

This morning at Gloucester High School’s Senior Awards Program, three graduating seniors were recognized for the numerous hours they spent serving their community as members of Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad. Pictured from left are: Kennedy Wilhite Junior EMS, Fire Cadet Deican O’Brien, Fire Cadet Kenneth Field and GVFRS President Bruce Soles.

GVFRS has two programs for teens aged 16 to 18 looking to learn more about how first responders are able to effectively and safely render aid to other members of, and visitors to, our community on what possibly may be the worst day of their lives. Through the Junior EMS program, they go on medic and public assist calls on a medic unit. Junior members can become “full-fledged” EMTs either through the high school or through GVFRS at Rappahannock Community College. Fire Cadets are trained by Officers and experienced members of our Company and are exposed to the many different facets of the fire service. They are provided personal protective equipment, ride fire apparatus to most calls (there are certain types of calls that we do not allow them to respond to) and provide important assistance to “exterior” firefighters and driver operators on the fire ground. (They are not permitted to go inside any burning structure.)

Many, but not all of our Junior Members and Cadets have gone on to become career firefighter-EMTs in surrounding counties. Some of those that are career still volunteer with us or with Abingdon. Others have pursued other career opportunities and still volunteer with us. And of course, some have learned that being a first responder “wasn’t for them”.

If you are coming up on your 16th birthday or, if you know of someone who is, stop by Station 1 in the Courthouse Village or go to our website at www.GVFRS.org to find out more!

06/01/2026

The first Monday of every month, members of Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue attend our monthly business meeting at Station 1 in the Courthouse Village. Generally, members will show up and gather early in the engine bay to socialize and “catch up” with one another.

We’re always looking for new members, and if you have ever wondered about becoming a firefighter, Emergency Medical Technician, or both, feel free to drop by Station 1 to find out more, or go to our website www.GVFRS.org and look around. If you’re really interested and ready to take the next step, applications for membership can even be completed online!

05/24/2026

At every one of our Fire Prevention Presentations we stress the importance of EVERYONE SLEEPING WITH BEDROOM DOORS CLOSED! Well here’s an interesting video of an attached garage fire showing how the closed door between the garage and living quarters kept dangerous smoke and flames at bay!

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1RLicZdCNc/?mibextid=wwXIfr

05/18/2026

GVFRS is conducting joint tanker shuttle drill with our mutual aid partners. Abingdon Volunteer Fire and Rescue Inc. Upper Middlesex fire, Lower Middlesex fire, Middlesex Fire, Lower King & Queen Fire, Mathews fire, York County fire and Deltaville fire.

05/15/2026

HEY FOLKS! WE ARE OFFICIALLY ENDURING DROUGHT CONDITIONS HERE IN GLOUCESTER, MATHEWS, MIDDLESEX, KING AND QUEEN AND PRETTY MUCH THE ENTIRE STATE!

PLEASE REFRAIN FROM OUTDOOR BURNING!!!

Click on the story below if you want more details. The “short story” is, coupled with the windy conditions we’ve been seeing on a daily basis, the potential exists for wildfires to spread burning large areas of vegetation, woodlands and burning your and your neighbors real property (buildings)!

https://www.wric.com/news/virginia-news/deq-drought-warning-advisory-expands-may-14/?fbclid=IwZnRzaAR0aNdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEevX7R31hrgARmriOHdXIcf7OPZFeWSMMaXzX4YKvwWFmA2lrchMNsPYgFg60_aem_p-BP9Y4be8LdyjLPR4xNWw

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is expanding its drought warning to 94 counties and 33 cities due to continued drought conditions across the state.