Arcola Volunteer Fire Department

06/04/2020

Protect yourself and your loved ones. Don’t wait for a #storm or #emergency to hit. Sign up now for #AlertLoudoun. If you’re already signed up, make sure your account is up to date!

#ArcolaVFD
https://www.arcolavfd.org/sign-up-for-loudoun-county-emergency-alerts/

06/03/2020

Don’t Delay Emergency Care! Loudoun First Responders and Emergency Rooms Are Prepared - Arcola Volunteer Fire Department

Don't Wait to seek medical attention!
Loudoun First Responders and Emergency Rooms are Prepared. #ArcolaVFD

  The Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System and StoneSprings Hospital are working together to ensure our residents and visitors are not

06/02/2020

Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company

Our condolences to the family of JB Anderson, a longtime fixture of the LCCFRS system and member of Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company. Rest easy brother, we'll take it from here

JAMES B. “JB” ANDERSON II

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of a true Leesburg Legend, past Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company Chief, James B. Anderson II, on May 29, 2020. Known as J.B. to his friends, he lived his entire life in the fire service. He was the grandson of Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company Member James “Big Jim” Anderson, who served in the fire company from 1936 to 1955 and was a well-known citizen of Leesburg. J.B. grew up among the old timers of the LVFC. Raised in an apartment house on Loudoun Street; where the Town parking garage is now, many of JB’s neighbors were firemen. It was just a short run from his house to the old fire station on east Loudoun Street where they volunteered. His grandfather often brought J.B. to the fire house where he got to know the company members from as far back as the 1930’s.

J.B. joined the Fire Company in 1966, and a few months later, left town to serve four years in the Air Force as a nuclear bomb technician with the 509th Bomb Wing of the 8th Air Force. He had the distinction of being one of a the very few who had ever diffused a live nuclear bomb. A B-52 bomber had returned to base with a live device that had accidentally armed itself and J.B. was called on to make it safe. Despite never having been trained for this sort of dangerous operation, he crawled into the bomb bay of the aircraft, disassembled the activated bomb, and made it safe. J.B. received several accommodations and high praise from the base commander for his bravery. Always the electronics enthusiast, J.B. switched jobs and became a Communications Specialist, working as a M.A.R.S. radio operator. The Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) is a collection of radio stations used to broadcast and relay messages to all parts of the globe as part of a contingency communications system. After the service, J.B. operated his own Ham radio set for decades and set up a base station at station 1 for the fire company.

While in the Air Force, J.B. was still running calls with the fire company when he came home on leave. After he was discharged in 1970, he returned home and back to the fire company where he met his future wife, Jill. In 1974, he received permission to use the fire house for his wedding to Miss Jill Bell, on June 22, 1974, – all Company members and family were invited. Jill’s father was Walter Bell, also a member of the Fire Company who served from 1960 into the 1970’s. Mr. Bell was a member for many years as a driver, company secretary, director, Captain and treasurer. Jill’s mother; Aurelia Bell, was one of the original members of the Ladies Auxiliary when it was organized on July, 25, 1967.

In 1975 and 1976, J.B. was elected Captain 1; Assistant Chief in 1977, then Chief from 1978 through 1980. JB became a Fire Marshal with the County and started work as “FM-4,” under O.R. Dube’ in 1980. In 1981, he was the Assistant Chief, then Captain from 1982 through 1984. In 1992 and 1993, he was elected Assistant Chief. J.B. served as the Company parliamentarian on and off for over forty years and was a Company Photographer, taking thousands of photos and videos of Company operations.

J.B.’s passion for teaching fire safety started when he saw first-hand the cost of not knowing what to do in an emergency. As a fire marshal, he had investigated a fatal house fire in which a woman and her child died. Late at night she awoke to find the first floor of the house on fire. The rest of the family had already escaped out of the second-floor windows but the woman tried to use the stairs. While holding the baby in her arms, she opened the door to escape and was immediately overcome by the heat and smoke. There were no working smoke detectors in the house. J.B. never forgot them. He organized visits to schools, made up his own fire prevention coloring books to hand out, and produced public service messages on WAGE radio. In 1975, the LVFC received honorable mention in the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) fire prevention contest thanks to the hard work of J.B, Anderson.

During his career, J.B. served in many diverse capacities in emergency services. He was a Life Member of the Loudoun County Volunteer Rescue Squad where he served as an Emergency Medical Specialist Technician, and First Aid Trainer & CPR instructor. During the mid-1990’s, he worked as the Drug Task Force Coordinator for NHP where he was responsible for the implementation and operations of a Federal grant for the elimination of drug activity, drug awareness education, training & education for residents of community. He coordinated and facilitated the Loudoun House Coalition Inc., a consortium of 20+ service agencies, and local police agencies. From2000 to 2002, J.B. worked for RPI Consultants as a program analyst with the Emergency Management Division of Research Planning. He provided support to the Department of Justice Domestic Preparedness Program (DPP) – Office of Domestic Preparedness (ODP) working on the design, development and facilitation of nationwide Chemical and Biological Tabletop and Functional Exercises. Individual exercises had to be specifically tailored to each city for Nuclear-Biological-Chemical Weapons of Mass Destruction Domestic (NBC-WMD) Terrorism Preparedness Training.

In 2006, J.B. was hired by Loudoun County Schools to design and teach the first Firefighter / EMT Curriculum Instructor at the Monroe Technology Center. He taught the first two years of this successful program which continues today under the supervision of another LVFC member. From there, he moved on to work at the National Fire Academy (NFA) at Emmitsburg, Maryland. He was a training specialist assigned to Fire Prevention responsible for the development of new courses, projects and curriculums. Beginning in 2010, J.B. spent two years working for Organizational Strategies Inc. (OSI). As a manager for Fire, EMS, Law Enforcement, & Emergency Management, he coordinated the development and implementation of a Command Training Center (CTC) for the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services (DCFD) in Washington, D.C.

J.B. had an extensive career in fire service education. He was an Adjunct Instructor for Virginia Department of Fire Programs, a Test Site Supervisor/proctor. His list of credentials included being a Pro Board-certified instructor for -Hazmat Responder Operations, Firefighter II, Officer IV, Instructor IV, Investigator III, Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator Aerial and Pumper, Safety Compliance Officer, Inst IV, Test Site Supervisor, FF1/2, EVOC, HazMat Awareness/Operations. J.B. was also a National Fire Academy Instructor for Building Construction – Combustible and Non-combustible, Conducting Basic Fire Inspections, Arson Detection-First Responder, Emergency Response to Terrorism-Strategic Considerations for the Command Officer, Community Emergency Response Teams, ICS for Fire, ICS for EMS, Unified Command - Multi-agency & Catastrophic Incidents. He taught Prevention & Response to Suicide Bombing Incidents and Incident Response to Terrorist Bombings as a New Mexico Tech (NMT) Homeland Defense Courses Instructor. He was also a Louisiana State University (LSU) Course Instructor for Law Enforcement Response to Weapons of Mass Destruction.

During his time in the Company, JB has had a hand in almost every aspect of our operation. With fifty-two years of service, he was recently attending company meetings when his health allowed. His knowledge of the Fire Company history has been invaluable in piecing our heritage together. He is responsible for saving over one thousand important Company documents; including meeting minutes, by-laws, newspaper clippings and photos, from as far back as 1925. His work on our history has been instrumental in allowing us move forward with documenting and publishing our legacy. J.B. was a recipient of many awards but one of his proudest moments came in 2017, when the Fire Company honored him by dedicating the new Peirce Enforcer engine in his name.

J.B. leaves behind a loving wife and family as well as countless friends and colleague’s in Leesburg and around the country. His contributions to the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company and the fire service in general have been tremendous. J. B. Anderson was truly a Leesburg Legend and will be remembered for generations to come. Rest in Peace Chief, we’ve got it from here.

06/02/2020

Great photo taken from last March demonstrating the skills of some of #ArcolaVFD's newest recruits. We're so proud of our #volunteer crew! Click the link below for more pictures.

http://ow.ly/reIO50zJNLX

06/02/2020

Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company

Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company

JAMES B. “JB” ANDERSON II

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of a true Leesburg Legend, past Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company Chief, James B. Anderson II, on May 29, 2020. Known as J.B. to his friends, he lived his entire life in the fire service. He was the grandson of Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company Member James “Big Jim” Anderson, who served in the fire company from 1936 to 1955 and was a well-known citizen of Leesburg. J.B. grew up among the old timers of the LVFC. Raised in an apartment house on Loudoun Street; where the Town parking garage is now, many of JB’s neighbors were firemen. It was just a short run from his house to the old fire station on east Loudoun Street where they volunteered. His grandfather often brought J.B. to the fire house where he got to know the company members from as far back as the 1930’s.

J.B. joined the Fire Company in 1966, and a few months later, left town to serve four years in the Air Force as a nuclear bomb technician with the 509th Bomb Wing of the 8th Air Force. He had the distinction of being one of a the very few who had ever diffused a live nuclear bomb. A B-52 bomber had returned to base with a live device that had accidentally armed itself and J.B. was called on to make it safe. Despite never having been trained for this sort of dangerous operation, he crawled into the bomb bay of the aircraft, disassembled the activated bomb, and made it safe. J.B. received several accommodations and high praise from the base commander for his bravery. Always the electronics enthusiast, J.B. switched jobs and became a Communications Specialist, working as a M.A.R.S. radio operator. The Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) is a collection of radio stations used to broadcast and relay messages to all parts of the globe as part of a contingency communications system. After the service, J.B. operated his own Ham radio set for decades and set up a base station at station 1 for the fire company.

While in the Air Force, J.B. was still running calls with the fire company when he came home on leave. After he was discharged in 1970, he returned home and back to the fire company where he met his future wife, Jill. In 1974, he received permission to use the fire house for his wedding to Miss Jill Bell, on June 22, 1974, – all Company members and family were invited. Jill’s father was Walter Bell, also a member of the Fire Company who served from 1960 into the 1970’s. Mr. Bell was a member for many years as a driver, company secretary, director, Captain and treasurer. Jill’s mother; Aurelia Bell, was one of the original members of the Ladies Auxiliary when it was organized on July, 25, 1967.

In 1975 and 1976, J.B. was elected Captain 1; Assistant Chief in 1977, then Chief from 1978 through 1980. JB became a Fire Marshal with the County and started work as “FM-4,” under O.R. Dube’ in 1980. In 1981, he was the Assistant Chief, then Captain from 1982 through 1984. In 1992 and 1993, he was elected Assistant Chief. J.B. served as the Company parliamentarian on and off for over forty years and was a Company Photographer, taking thousands of photos and videos of Company operations.

J.B.’s passion for teaching fire safety started when he saw first-hand the cost of not knowing what to do in an emergency. As a fire marshal, he had investigated a fatal house fire in which a woman and her child died. Late at night she awoke to find the first floor of the house on fire. The rest of the family had already escaped out of the second-floor windows but the woman tried to use the stairs. While holding the baby in her arms, she opened the door to escape and was immediately overcome by the heat and smoke. There were no working smoke detectors in the house. J.B. never forgot them. He organized visits to schools, made up his own fire prevention coloring books to hand out, and produced public service messages on WAGE radio. In 1975, the LVFC received honorable mention in the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) fire prevention contest thanks to the hard work of J.B, Anderson.

During his career, J.B. served in many diverse capacities in emergency services. He was a Life Member of the Loudoun County Volunteer Rescue Squad where he served as an Emergency Medical Specialist Technician, and First Aid Trainer & CPR instructor. During the mid-1990’s, he worked as the Drug Task Force Coordinator for NHP where he was responsible for the implementation and operations of a Federal grant for the elimination of drug activity, drug awareness education, training & education for residents of community. He coordinated and facilitated the Loudoun House Coalition Inc., a consortium of 20+ service agencies, and local police agencies. From2000 to 2002, J.B. worked for RPI Consultants as a program analyst with the Emergency Management Division of Research Planning. He provided support to the Department of Justice Domestic Preparedness Program (DPP) – Office of Domestic Preparedness (ODP) working on the design, development and facilitation of nationwide Chemical and Biological Tabletop and Functional Exercises. Individual exercises had to be specifically tailored to each city for Nuclear-Biological-Chemical Weapons of Mass Destruction Domestic (NBC-WMD) Terrorism Preparedness Training.

In 2006, J.B. was hired by Loudoun County Schools to design and teach the first Firefighter / EMT Curriculum Instructor at the Monroe Technology Center. He taught the first two years of this successful program which continues today under the supervision of another LVFC member. From there, he moved on to work at the National Fire Academy (NFA) at Emmitsburg, Maryland. He was a training specialist assigned to Fire Prevention responsible for the development of new courses, projects and curriculums. Beginning in 2010, J.B. spent two years working for Organizational Strategies Inc. (OSI). As a manager for Fire, EMS, Law Enforcement, & Emergency Management, he coordinated the development and implementation of a Command Training Center (CTC) for the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services (DCFD) in Washington, D.C.

J.B. had an extensive career in fire service education. He was an Adjunct Instructor for Virginia Department of Fire Programs, a Test Site Supervisor/proctor. His list of credentials included being a Pro Board-certified instructor for -Hazmat Responder Operations, Firefighter II, Officer IV, Instructor IV, Investigator III, Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator Aerial and Pumper, Safety Compliance Officer, Inst IV, Test Site Supervisor, FF1/2, EVOC, HazMat Awareness/Operations. J.B. was also a National Fire Academy Instructor for Building Construction – Combustible and Non-combustible, Conducting Basic Fire Inspections, Arson Detection-First Responder, Emergency Response to Terrorism-Strategic Considerations for the Command Officer, Community Emergency Response Teams, ICS for Fire, ICS for EMS, Unified Command - Multi-agency & Catastrophic Incidents. He taught Prevention & Response to Suicide Bombing Incidents and Incident Response to Terrorist Bombings as a New Mexico Tech (NMT) Homeland Defense Courses Instructor. He was also a Louisiana State University (LSU) Course Instructor for Law Enforcement Response to Weapons of Mass Destruction.

During his time in the Company, JB has had a hand in almost every aspect of our operation. With fifty-two years of service, he was recently attending company meetings when his health allowed. His knowledge of the Fire Company history has been invaluable in piecing our heritage together. He is responsible for saving over one thousand important Company documents; including meeting minutes, by-laws, newspaper clippings and photos, from as far back as 1925. His work on our history has been instrumental in allowing us move forward with documenting and publishing our legacy. J.B. was a recipient of many awards but one of his proudest moments came in 2017, when the Fire Company honored him by dedicating the new Peirce Enforcer engine in his name.

J.B. leaves behind a loving wife and family as well as countless friends and colleague’s in Leesburg and around the country. His contributions to the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company and the fire service in general have been tremendous. J. B. Anderson was truly a Leesburg Legend and will be remembered for generations to come. Rest in Peace Chief, we’ve got it from here.