The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors directed County Executive Bryan Hill last Tuesday (Feb. 3) to consider ways a number of “placemaking” organizations — including Visit Fairfax, Volunteer Fairfax and the Tysons Community Alliance — could be consolidated or restructured to reduce costs and be more operationally strategic.
“While each provides value, fragmentation and duplicative services dilute impact and reduce efficiency,” board members said in the directive to Hill.
All is bright for the Town of Vienna’s volunteer fire department headed into the thick of the holiday season.
A recent fundraising campaign organized to provide upkeep for Santa’s special sleigh — a 79-year-old antique fire engine — shattered the initial goal by more than $27,000, the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department announced last week.
Fairfax County’s 12 volunteer fire and rescue departments face critical challenges that may impede their long-term viability, the Board of Supervisors heard on Tuesday (Oct. 14).
“We are concerned about the future,” said Shawn Stokes, who chairs the county’s Volunteer Fire Commission and serves as vice president of administration for the Fairfax County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association.
Vienna’s volunteer fire department needs help to keep one of its longest-running holiday traditions alive.
The department launched a fundraiser this past Saturday (Oct. 4) to provide upkeep for Santa’s special sleigh — a 79-year-old antique fire engine.
Though fireworks are a traditional staple of Independence Day celebrations, they tend to be less welcome even on that occasion when unleashed without warning.
Such was the case last Friday (July 4) at a McDonald’s in Reston. Multiple people reportedly set off fireworks inside the fast-food restaurant, sparking havoc as patrons and employees fled the quickly smoke-filled scene.
City of Fairfax officials are developing plans to construct a new primary fire station.
Though the project’s timing and final price tag still need to be pinned down, progress is being made and details will soon emerge, a representative of the architect told the Fairfax City Council at an April 22 meeting.
A parking lot in Springfield played a major role this year in Wreaths Across America’s annual tribute to fallen military service members at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Interstate Van Lines building at 5801 Rolling Road in Springfield served as a major staging area for dozens of tractor-trailer trucks that transported wreaths to the cemetery, where Wreaths Across America laid tributes at every single gravesite last Saturday (Dec. 14).
If it’s possible to sum up a life with two words, then testimony from family, friends and former colleagues suggests “service” and “community” should be top contenders for describing the legacy of longtime Fairfax County volunteer fire chief Homer Johns.
Speakers repeatedly circled back to those concepts at a memorial service on Saturday (Nov. 16), as they paid tribute to the over five decades Johns spent with the McLean and Great Falls volunteer fire departments.
The McLean Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD) took a sizable step toward its goal of acquiring a new fire engine yesterday (Wednesday) after accepting the biggest single donation in its history.
An estate planning attorney and administrative volunteer for the department, Bob Freda, presented a check for $75,000 to MVFD President Patricia Moynihan on behalf of the Patricia A. Henriques Charitable Foundation.
(Updated 4:50 p.m.) Firefighters are battling a two-alarm fire with possible hazardous materials at a warehouse in Sterling.
Smoke is billowing into the skies over Fairfax from a fire at Prospect Waterproofing Company (118 Acacia Lane). It is possible that a gas line was struck, per scanner traffic. Police said at 3:31 p.m. that the gas exposure has been controlled.
