East Sullivan County Fire Department

05/26/2026

🎉 Happy Birthday, Assistant Chief Matt Kegley 🎉

Assistant Chief Kegley has been a dedicated member of the East Sullivan County Fire Department since 2006 and steadily worked his way up—first becoming a Lieutenant, then Captain, and eventually Assistant Fire Chief in 2018, a position he proudly continues to hold.

With 20 years of service, Chief Kegley has earned the honor of Lifetime Member and remains one of our department’s most active and committed members. He holds numerous state certifications—including Firefighter II and HazMat Technician. Chief Kegley plays a vital role in teaching many of our annual in-service classes.

🚒🔥 Please join us in wishing Chief Kegley a very Happy Birthday and thanking him for his continued dedication to our community! 🎉

05/16/2026

Effective today, burn permits issued through the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry are no longer required for open burning in Sullivan County through October 15, 2026.

Although permits are not required during this period, all outdoor burning must still comply with all applicable Tennessee Division of Forestry regulations, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) regulations, local ordinances, and all other applicable state laws.

The following safety requirements shall be observed at all times:

• Fires shall be constantly attended and supervised until fully extinguished
• An adequate means of fire control and extinguishment shall be immediately available at the burn site
• Open burning shall not be conducted within an unsafe distance of structures, vehicles, combustible materials, woodlands, or other exposures
• Burning shall not be conducted during hazardous weather or wind conditions that could contribute to fire spread or create a public safety hazard

Any person conducting open burning in violation of applicable laws, regulations, or safety requirements may be subject to enforcement action, citations, suppression costs, civil penalties, and/or criminal penalties as prescribed by Tennessee law.

Please burn responsibly and help protect the citizens, visitors, property, and natural resources of Sullivan County.

05/16/2026

We would like to take this time to congratulate Anthony Walden and Kiersten Dillow on the birth of their twin boys, Hayes and Henry Walden, born on 5/14/26.

Hayes was born at 8:41 AM weighing 6 lbs. 13 oz., and Henry was born at 8:42 AM weighing 6 lbs. 1 oz.

Mom and both babies are doing great! Congratulations to the entire family on this exciting blessing.

05/15/2026

We would like to thank Highlands Emergency Air Rescue & Transport for coming to Sullivan East Middle School last night to provide LZ training for our new members. We appreciate your time, knowledge, and dedication to helping our personnel gain valuable hands-on experience and training. HICKORY TREE VOL FIRE DEPT.

04/25/2026

HICKORY TREE VOL FIRE DEPT. Fire chief taking it easy at FDIC

04/25/2026

Day #2 of FDIC 2026 once again members of our department and our friends of HICKORY TREE VOL FIRE DEPT. Had a wonderful day of meeting and learning about new equipment and also got to demo some tools today.

04/23/2026

Day 1 of 2026 FDIC members of East and HICKORY TREE VOL FIRE DEPT. Attended leaning about new equipment and fire apparatus.

04/04/2026

04/01/2026

🚒 March Call Volume Recap 🚒

During the month of March, our department responded to:

• 1 structure fire
• 6 brush fire
• 1 vehicle fire
• 3 car wrecks
• 1 smoke investigation
• 1 water rescue
• 1 mutual aid standby
• 1 medical call
• 2 public service standbys

For a total of 17 calls for service.

We are proud of our firefighters for their dedication, professionalism, and commitment to protecting our community, no matter the call or the hour. Thank you for your continued support. 👨‍🚒🔥

03/30/2026

Yesterday evening, East Sullivan County Fire Department responded to assist Green Spring Volunteer Fire & Rescue with the Cave Creek Fire in the 25000 block of Cave Creek Road in Abingdon.

Mutual aid partners included HICKORY TREE VOL FIRE DEPT., 421 Area Emergency Services, Abingdon, Virginia Fire Department, Damascus, Virginia Fire Department Station 1400, Virginia Department of Forestry, and the U.S. Forest Service.

Upon arrival, crews encountered an approximately 20-acre wildfire burning in steep terrain, with portions extending into the national forest. Due to extreme fire danger conditions, the fire spread rapidly. Firefighters worked quickly and efficiently to establish containment lines and bring the situation under control.

We would also like to extend our appreciation to the Bristol Tennessee Fire Department for standing by and covering additional calls within our response area during this incident.