The Bailey's Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department was founded in 1942. The two-story firehouse stood at the intersection of Route 7 and Columbia Pike and was home to five career and forty volunteer firefighters. Seventy years ago, the operations of the fire department were different than they are today. Since there were not enough career firefighters to staff the station around the clock, the comm
unity relied on its volunteers to respond to emergencies. The fire siren would sound and volunteers in the community would stop what they were doing and respond to the calls for help. As the population in the area increased, traffic congestion grew as well. Fairfax County decided to build a cloverleaf at the intersection of Route 7 and Columbia Pike where the firehouse stood. In 1974 the department moved a short distance down Columbia Pike to a new home at 3601 Firehouse Lane, where is presently located. A few years later, Fairfax County began staffing all fire stations with full-time career fighters around the clock. We even enlisted Joe Theismann, the popular Redskins quarterback, who headlined a very successful fundraiser in 1982. On February 8, 2010, unprecedented snows blanketed the region. The roof of our station suffered a partial collapse during the snow storm. This collapse occurred in the bay area of the building used to house the emergency apparatus. As a result, a temporary bay was constructed to house the apparatus. Up until 2010, the land, the firehouse, and most of the equipment were still owned and maintained by the Bailey's Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department. In November 2010 the members of the department voted to turn the facility and land over to Fairfax County, in exchange for an agreement to build a new facility. In 2013 the Bailey’s family packed up and moved 3 blocks down the street to a temporary station while a new station was being constructed on Firehouse Lane. Though the temporary quarters were tight, Fire Station 10 (Bailey’s Crossroads) still remained one of the busiest fire stations in the county. On October 11, 2014 we had our dedication ceremony of the new completed station. We are in our new home and continue to serve our community. The volunteers still own all of the apparatus in the station, except for the truck, and will continue to purchase engines and ambulances for the foreseeable future. The times and operations of the fire department have changed over the past seventy years, but the dedication and commitment to the Bailey's Crossroads community have not. The firehouse is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with full-time career firefighters and over forty active volunteers working together as partners to serve our community.
