The Bakerton Fire Department, is located in Jefferson County which is the eastern-most county of the panhandle of West Virginia just outside of Harper’s Ferry in the Unincorporated town of Bakerton.
The Bakerton Fire Department was formed after a series of bad fires struck the local area. The most notable fire was in December of 2001 that destroyed a furniture store in Kearneysville. Lawrence Crouse’s Furniture Store was totally destroyed. This prompted the need for an additional fire department in the county.
Michael Pond, a member of the Shepherdstown Fire Department was inspired to build a stronger defense against fire and began to tackle the drawn-out process of forming another volunteer fire department. Hence, the Bakerton Fire Department was born.
Mr. Pond took his idea for the Bakerton Fire Department before the Jefferson County Fire & Rescue Association. State level approval was obtained for issues regarding insurance and inspections of equipment. After all regulatory work was completed, the Bakerton Fire Department became the 449th fire department in the state of West Virginia.
Initial funding for the establishment of the Bakerton Fire Department came from the filling of swimming pools and fire apparatus was donated or purchased from across the country.
The department started with twenty (20) volunteer members that began answering calls from a building on Uvilla Road in August of 2006. Today the department responds from a five (5) bay station that was built in 2008 located at 891 Carter Avenue in downtown Bakerton.
The department covers a wide response area as well as providing rescue response on the waterways of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers where Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia come together.
The current company fleet consists of the following vehicles: Engine 7, Tanker 7, Squad 7, Air 7, Boat 7, Boat 7-2, Boat 7-3, Utility 7, Utility 7-2, Duty 7 and Serv 7.
Bakerton volunteers handle all water related emergencies within Jefferson County in addition to fire responses and is on automatic dispatch for mutual aid to Washington County, MD for water rescue calls on the Potomac River.
The department initiated a Swift Water Rescue Team in early 2015 and operates two DIB inflatable boats and an AlumaPro Rescue Water craft with a Wahoo Life Sled that are kept trailer’d and ready for response.
The Bakerton Fire Department is one of the seven volunteer departments in Jefferson County and as a volunteer department we receive some funding from the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office and Jefferson County.
All other funding is raised by various fundraising activities throughout the year. All which helps pay for the cost of firefighting and water equipment, fuel, insurance, worker’s compensation insurance, protective equipment, breathing apparatus, and repairs and maintenance on the equipment.
Many things have changed over the years for the Bakerton Fire Department but one thing has not. The Bakerton Fire Department is still 100% “VOLUNTEER” staffed. As volunteers, we have the desire and passion to help our community during any emergency that life may bring them.
We come from all kinds of different backgrounds and training, our administration members work very hard to keep the day to day operations running smoothly and our firefighters train very hard to be ready for whatever emergency may arise.
As a volunteer department we are always accepting new members to help better the department and the community we serve.
Please feel free to stop by and meet your local volunteer firefighters at any time or to learn more about the Bakerton Fire Department.
Thank you for your support,
Bakerton Fire Department Membership