HVFC - Hampton Volunteer Fire Company

04/09/2026

Today in Hampton History
1884 - A devastating fire destroys over a quarter of the town of Hampton. Begun in a harness shop and dry goods store on W. Queen Street, the fire spread quickly in windy conditions, consuming most of the businesses on the western side of King Street.

Hampton had no fire department, and firefighters from Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), the National Soldiers’ Home (now the Hampton VA Medical Center), and Fort Monroe rushed across the Hampton River to battle the blaze. Their assistance prevented the fire from consuming the entire town. In the wake of the disaster, volunteers formed the first Hampton fire company later that year.

Image: The Hampton Fire Department at its fire house on Court Street (behind the Courthouse), 1892.

Find more Fire Department history in our collections online:
https://hampton.catalogaccess.com/advanced-search?includedFields=Objects%2CPhotos%2CArchives%2CLibrary%2CPeople%2CContainers&Topic=%22Fire+Departments%2FLaw+Enforcement%22&page=1&size=10&withImages=false

04/07/2026

04/05/2026

Former HVFC 1922 Ahrens-Fox M-S-3 Piston Pumper

03/08/2026

Today in Hampton History
1944 - The Hampton Fire Company votes to approve plans for a new engine house. However, its old home on Court Street (behind the former courthouse building) was used until 1956 when a new, much larger fire station was opened on Pembroke Avenue.

Image: The Hampton Fire Department’s Engine #1, taken around 1947 at an unrecorded location. The man is likely Robert Sinclair, with children Curt and Glennell.

Find more Fire Department history in the Museum’s collections online:
https://hampton.catalogaccess.com/advanced-search?includedFields=Objects%2CPhotos%2CArchives%2CLibrary%2CPeople%2CContainers&Topic=%22Fire+Departments%2FLaw+Enforcement%22&page=1&size=10&withImages=false

02/07/2026

We still have the original “Volunteer” name plate, it is still on display in our meeting room.

Today in Hampton History
1891 - A horse-drawn steamer fire engine is shipped to Hampton by the LaFrance Engine Company. Given the name “Volunteer,” for several years it was the pride of Hampton’s fire department.

Image: The Hampton Fire Department’s LaFrance steam engine (left), at the old Fire Department headquarters behind the courthouse, 1892. HHM Collections.

Find more Fire Department history in the Museum’s collections online: https://hampton.catalogaccess.com/advanced-search?includedFields=Objects%2CPhotos%2CArchives%2CLibrary%2CPeople%2CContainers&Topic=%22Fire+Departments%2FLaw+Enforcement%22&page=1&size=10&withImages=false

01/27/2026

Today in Hampton History
1893 - The Phoebus Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 is organized after a large fire that destroyed several structures the week before. By June, a fire station was constructed at a cost of $694 on land donated by the Lancer family. Later additions to the building included a bell tower, horse stables, and hay lofts. In 1938, a new building was constructed, joining the Phoebus Fire Department and Town Hall.

Image: The Phoebus Fire Department around 1915. HHM Collections.

Find more Phoebus and Fire Department history in our collections online:
https://hampton.catalogaccess.com/advanced-search?includedFields=Objects%2CPhotos%2CArchives%2CLibrary%2CPeople%2CContainers&Geography+and+Place=%22Site--Phoebus+Historic+District%22&page=1&size=10&withImages=false

https://hampton.catalogaccess.com/search-terms/18683

https://www.phoebusmemories.org/fire-department

01/24/2026

On January 21, 2026, the Hampton Division of Fire & Rescue received multiple reports of a structure fire in the 90-block of W County St. in Phoebus. Shortly after calling a second alarm activation, members from the Hampton, Phoebus, Wythe, Fox Hill and Northampton Volunteer Fire Companies quickly rushed to staff an engine company and 2 utility trucks to assist in backfilling the stations. Units from Langley Air Force Base, Norfolk, Newport News, Poquoson, and York County were also called in to assist in backfilling.

01/24/2026

10/10/2025

Today in Hampton History
1889 - The first “lamp boys” of the Hampton Fire Engine Company are appointed. They were James V. Bickford (later mayor of Hampton), John Weymouth, Patrick Daugherty, Emmet Connor, Ross Lawson, James Gammel, and Walter Johnstone.

The lamp boys carried lanterns to light the way at night for horse-drawn fire engines. Many were sons of Company members and went on to serve as firefighters as adults.

Image: Hampton Fire Department at William T. Gatewood’s Store near the intersection of E. Queen St. and Tyler St., 1888. The boys in the photo may include some of the lamp boys appointed the following year. HHM collections.

Find more Fire Department history in our collections online: https://hampton.catalogaccess.com/advanced-search?includedFields=Objects%2CPhotos%2CArchives%2CLibrary%2CPeople%2CContainers&Topic=%22Fire+Departments%2FLaw+Enforcement%22&page=1&size=10&withImages=false