Who We Are

 

Catawba Vol. Fire Department was organized in August 1937 upon a motion of the Town Board of Catawba. Mr. Neil Sherrill was appointed by the Catawba Town Board as the Fire Chief to organize the fire fighters. The first department meeting was called on September 15, 1937 where the Constitution and Bylaws of the Hickory Fire Department were read and amended for departmental use.  

The first year of existence was a precarious one. The meetings were changed to be held at Mr. E.L. Huffman’s barbershop, so they would have a heated building to meet for the winter. A special meeting was held in June 1938 to elect a new Chief, E.L. Huffman after the resignation of Mr. Sherrill. Mr. Huffman resigned in May 1939 and his unexpired term was filled by R. Malone Brown. Fringe benefits and social gatherings offered enticement to those who aspired to fire fighting in the town. Members were relieved of their Town and County Poll Tax in April 1938. During the early 1940’s the department responded to an average of three calls per year and the Town Board paid each fireman $1.00 for responding to calls.

After Chief Brown’s departure for the Army he was replaced by Assistant Chief Challie Jones. In September 1944, E.L. Huffman was elected Chief and served until he entered a change of profession. At this time Mr. Brown had returned from the war and was hired by the Town Board to maintain the fire truck, attend the signal light, and act as Fire Chief for a fee of $5.00 per month. In 1947 a bond referendum was passed enabling the building of a Town Hall and Fire Department. During the mid 1950’s, the department decided to have regular drills and gain a greater knowledge of their equipment in order to better serve their community. The Town Board purchased a new truck that was delivered in October 1954 that was for Town use only. The department covered fire calls as far as 12 miles away, Claremont to Statesville.  

In 1962 the members joined the Catawba County Firemen’s Association and began sending members to fire schools and conventions at department expense. Chief Ray P. Robinson was elected in 1965 and served until 1972 when Jerry W. Miller was elected to serve as the new Fire Chief.

In the early 70’s the issue of a county-wide fire tax surfaced. In May 1974, the Catawba Fire Department had collected enough names and presented them to the County Fire Marshal to justify an election for a fire tax within the Catawba Fire District. A vote was held on January 18, 1975, and the citizens approved a fire tax, showing their support of the volunteer department. New Constitution and Bylaws were adopted November of 1977 and in 1978 the rural district was named Riverside Fire District. Chief Miller served until 1980, when Joe Sigmon was elected to replace him. Chief Sigmon served until 1983 and was replaced by Carroll Yount, whose term lasted until 1985.  

Following in the tradition of his father Ray Robinson, Donald Robinson was elected Fire Chief in June 1985 and currently holds the Fire Chief position. Construction of a new fire station began in August 1985 and was made possible by a bond issue overwhelmingly approved by the people of Catawba. The new station, built for $200,000, is six times the size of the old quarters shared with Town Hall. A new pumper truck was purchased in 1985 for the rural district replacing the old 1954 Chevrolet fire truck. Catawba Fire Department celebrated its 50 th anniversary in September 1987.   

In 2012, the Town decided to create a non-profit fire department to contract with for fire protection, instead of having this service under the umbrella of the Town. From 2012-2014 many hours went into forming Catawba Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Many meetings were held, and the firm Management Solutions for Emergency Services was hired and approved by the Town Manager to assist with the formation of the rural department. In November 2012 the charter was sent into the State and was received back approved.

The Board then appointed Donald R. Robinson as the first Fire Chief/COO for CVFD, Inc. in July 2013. The newly established department was able to keep their current fire ISO rating of 4/9s, and in July 2013 began to provide fire service to the Town of Catawba and Catawba Rural Fire District under new contracts. CVFD, Inc. voted to, and purchased land from, the Brown family in December 2013 to be used for a training ground and future sub-station for CVFD, Inc. In March of 2014 CVFD, Inc. was able to finalize the purchase of the 2009 Pierce Fire Truck from the Town of Catawba at a great savings to the citizens.