Middleburg Volunteer Fire Department celebrated its 80th year on Saturday, May 7, as the organization completes its transition to all professional staff.
The Middleburg agency was incorporated in 1936 with one fire truck, adding an ambulance in the early 1950s.
The ceremony was attended by former volunteers and senior Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management Staff, who presented the department with a statue of a bell commemorating the department’s 80 years of service.
A detail from a photo shows Clayton Ellis as a young man volunteering at Middleburg.
Professional firefighters’ turnout gear now sits in racks at the Middleburg station, ready for the call.
Detail of a bell commemorating the Middleburg Volunteer Fire Department’s 80 years of service as the department transitions to all professional personnel.
A thank-you note from two people helped by Middleburg volunteers.
34-year volunteer Clayton Ellis holds up a photo of his younger self from his volunteer days.
34-year Middleburg VFD volunteer Clayton Ellis.
Middleburg Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department President Charles Wallace and Combined Fire-Rescue System Chief W. Keith Brower Jr. stand with a mock fire alarm that commemorates the department’s 80 years of service.