Every June 23, the DeBary Volunteer Firemen’s Association marks another year since a group of neighbors decided their town would not wait for someone else to protect it. That decision, made in 1953, belongs to a much older American tradition. Long before there were paid fire departments, 911 or fire hydrants on every corner, ordinary people organized themselves to answer the fire bell. Today, volunteers still make up most of the nation’s firefighters. Here is how that tradition began, how it changed, and how DeBary’s own story fits into it.
Fire in the colonial town
For early American towns, fire was one of the most feared disasters. Homes and shops were built of wood, heated with open fires and lit by candles, and packed close together. A single chimney fire could spread to an entire street. There were no professional firefighters. When fire broke out, neighbors turned out with whatever they had, often forming lines to pass buckets of water hand to hand from a well or river to the flames. These “bucket brigades” depended entirely on people being willing to drop what they were doing and help.
Bucket brigades were brave, but they were often disorganized. Who would bring the buckets? Who would protect a family’s belongings from looters? Who would make sure it did not happen again? Answering those questions led to the first organized volunteer fire companies.
Benjamin Franklin and the Union Fire Company
In February 1735, an anonymous letter appeared in Benjamin Franklin’s newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, under the heading “Protection of Towns from Fire.” Its author was Franklin himself, and it contained a line Americans still repeat: “an Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure.” Franklin was writing about fire, urging Philadelphians to carry hot coals safely and to keep chimneys clean.
The following year, on December 7, 1736, Franklin and others organized the Union Fire Company. According to the history compiled by the Independence Hall Association, thirty men agreed to the company’s rules. Each member kept leather buckets and strong bags and baskets, used to carry water and to pack and rescue a neighbor’s goods, and brought them to every fire. The company met monthly to talk about fire prevention and better ways of fighting fires.
The idea caught on. Other Philadelphia companies followed, including the Heart-in-Hand, the Britannia and the Fellowship, and the model of neighbors banding together under shared rules spread through the colonies and, later, the young nation. Two ideas from Franklin’s company still define the fire service: show up when you are needed, and work just as hard to prevent fires as to fight them.
The age of the volunteer company
Through the late 1700s and much of the 1800s, volunteer fire companies were a central part of American town life. Membership was a mark of civic pride. Companies bought hand-pumped engines and hose, built firehouses that doubled as social halls, held parades and competitions, and raised money from their communities to keep going. Many of the traditions firefighters still honor, from polished apparatus to the firehouse as a gathering place, trace back to this era.
Steam changes everything in the big cities
Technology eventually changed the picture in the largest cities. In Cincinnati, Abel Shawk, Alexander Bonner Latta and Miles Greenwood built a practical steam fire engine that could start pumping water from a water source in about 10 minutes. The city received its first steam engine on January 1, 1853, and on April 1, 1853, Cincinnati established what it describes as the first professional, fully paid fire department in the United States. By 1863 the city had replaced all of its hand-operated engines with steamers.
Other large cities followed with paid departments over the following decades. But in small towns, rural counties and growing suburbs, volunteers remained the backbone of fire protection, and that has never stopped being true.
Many models, one mission
Today’s fire service is a patchwork shaped by each community’s size, budget and history. Some departments are entirely volunteer, some are entirely career, and many are “combination” departments in which paid and volunteer firefighters work side by side. Other communities, like DeBary, contract with a neighboring city for professional service while residents continue to serve in support roles. The structure varies from town to town, but the core idea Franklin’s company put on paper in 1736 is the same everywhere: neighbors committing ahead of time to show up for one another when fire strikes.
The volunteer fire service today
It surprises many people to learn that most American firefighters are still volunteers. The National Volunteer Fire Council’s 2026 fact sheet, citing National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) data, reports:
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total U.S. firefighters | About 1,018,100 |
| Volunteer firefighters | About 635,100 (62%) |
| Fire departments in the U.S. | 29,452 |
| All-volunteer departments | 18,873 |
| Mostly volunteer departments | 5,335 |
| Estimated annual savings to localities from volunteers | About $46.9 billion |
The job has also grown. The NVFC notes that call volume has more than tripled over the last 40 years, as fire departments have taken on emergency medical calls, rescues, hazardous materials and disaster response on top of firefighting. The work remains dangerous: in 2024, 72 firefighters died in the line of duty, 32 of them volunteers, and stress or overexertion was the leading cause, accounting for 42 deaths. That last figure is one reason on-scene rehab, the rest, hydration and cooling that support teams like ours provide, matters so much. You can read more in our article on why firefighter rehab and hydration save lives.
DeBary’s story begins: 1952–1955
DeBary’s chapter of this history started the same way Franklin’s did, with neighbors deciding to act. In October 1952, residents met to talk about the community’s lack of fire protection, and within two weeks they decided to form a volunteer fire company. On June 23, 1953, the legal papers were returned and the DeBary Volunteer Firemen’s Association was formed, with Ed Healy as its first fire chief.
- October 1953: The volunteers answer their first call, a brush fire, a fitting start in a part of Florida where brush fires remain a fact of life.
- May 1954: The association acquires its first engine, a 1943 Chevrolet combination pumper-tanker from Leesburg.
- February 13, 1955: DeBary’s first firehouse is dedicated at 10 Colomba Road. The building still serves as the association’s hall.
- March 1962: The Firemen’s Recreation Hall is dedicated. Today it is Florence K. Little Hall, home of our pancake breakfasts.
- 1974: A new metal firehouse, Station 14, is built beside the original to house more vehicles, offices and crew quarters.
From volunteer fire company to fire support team
Like many volunteer departments in growing communities, DeBary’s fire service changed as the town grew.
- December 1983: 911 service comes to DeBary.
- 1984: The department comes under Volusia County Fire Services, which brings the first full-time firefighters. The station is redesignated Station 33, and the volunteers’ Support Team is born to back up the firefighters on scene.
- 1989: The Mutual Aid Support Team (MAST) is founded.
- 2009: The City of DeBary contracts with the Orange City Fire Department for fire and rescue service.
- 2015: The city purchases a new Pierce Engine 33 with a 1,250-gallon-per-minute pump and a 750-gallon tank.
- July 2017: A new Station 33 opens, the third firehouse in DeBary’s history.
- 2019: During the multi-day Dutchman’s Bend brush fire, residents donate water, food and ice for the firefighters, a reminder of how much a community’s support matters.
- 2021–2022: A former Clay County ambulance is donated and equipped as the new Support 33, in service in early 2022.
- 2023: The association celebrates its 70th anniversary with a commemorative challenge coin.
- January 2026: DeBary opens its second fire station, Station 39.
Through all of those changes, the volunteers never went away; their role evolved. Today the association, doing business as the DeBary Volunteer Fire Support Team, supports the professional firefighters who serve DeBary rather than acting as the fire department itself. Members give roughly 2,000 volunteer hours a year, and more than 1,500 men and women have served since 1953. The full timeline is on our history page.
Why volunteers still matter
Franklin’s company carried buckets and bags. DeBary’s support members carry coolers of water and sports drinks, ice, tents, fans and generators, and clothing for families who have just lost their homes. The tools have changed, but the idea is the same: a fire is a community emergency, and the community can help.
- On scene: Rehab keeps firefighters hydrated, cooled and rested during long incidents in the Florida heat, so they can work safely.
- For displaced residents: Volunteers provide shade, water and immediate comfort when a family is standing in the street watching their home burn.
- In the community: Fundraisers like pancake breakfasts and the challenge coin buy equipment and supplies for the fire department, and members share fire prevention messages Franklin would recognize.
- As reserves: Florida-certified firefighter/EMTs can apply through a selection process to ride shifts alongside full-time crews.
Carry the tradition forward
Nearly three centuries after thirty Philadelphians promised to bring their buckets to every fire, the volunteer spirit is still what holds many American fire services together. In DeBary, it is why a 1955 firehouse still stands on Colomba Road and why a converted ambulance rolls out to support firefighters on hot summer nights. If you have ever wondered how you could be part of that story, there is a place for you, whether you can give a few hours at a pancake breakfast or train to work on an emergency scene. Learn more about us and how our members serve today.
Frequently asked questions
Who started the first volunteer fire company in America?
Benjamin Franklin is widely credited with organizing Philadelphia's Union Fire Company on December 7, 1736. Thirty men agreed to bring leather buckets, bags and baskets to every fire and to meet monthly to discuss fire prevention.
What percentage of US firefighters are volunteers today?
According to the National Volunteer Fire Council, citing NFPA data, about 635,100 of the nation's roughly 1,018,100 firefighters are volunteers, or about 62 percent.
When was the first paid fire department in the United States?
Cincinnati established what it describes as the first professional, fully paid fire department in the United States on April 1, 1853, after adopting a practical steam fire engine.
When was the DeBary Volunteer Firemen's Association founded?
DeBary residents first met about the lack of fire protection in October 1952, and the association's legal papers were returned on June 23, 1953. It answered its first call, a brush fire, in October 1953.
Does DeBary still have volunteer firefighters?
Fire service in DeBary has been provided by contract with the Orange City Fire Department since 2009. The DeBary Volunteer Fire Support Team continues the volunteer tradition by supporting those firefighters with rehab, fundraising and community education, and certified firefighter/EMTs can apply to serve as reserves.
Sources and further reading
- Independence Hall Association (ushistory.org): Benjamin Franklin and fire protection in Philadelphia
- Cincinnati Fire Department: Fire department history
- National Volunteer Fire Council: Volunteer fire service fact sheet (2026)
- National Volunteer Fire Council
Be part of DeBary’s next chapter. Volunteer with the DeBary Volunteer Fire Support Team as an association member, support member or reserve firefighter, and help carry a tradition that started with neighbors helping neighbors.
