This Day in Henrico History: November 1 – Henrico’s fire chief moves into civil defense

On November 1, 1962, Henrico Fire Chief P. L. Burnett moved into the county’s civil defense coordinator role, according to the county’s fire history. The change brought a longtime fire leader into a different part of the county’s emergency preparedness work.

Burnett had helped lead Henrico’s fire service as it developed from separate local operations toward a unified county system. The fire department history dates the start of the fully countywide operation to July 1, 1962, only four months before his change in duties.

Henrico’s historical data book also records the November 1 civil defense transition. A separately compiled Human Resources history lists that same date as the end of Burnett’s tenure heading the fire service.

The move marks a specific personnel change in the evolution of local public safety. Fire protection and preparation for wider emergencies were becoming increasingly organized county responsibilities, and Burnett’s reassignment connected those two areas of service.

Sources: Henrico County, Fire historical department narrative, December 2011, PDF p. 3; Henrico County, Historical Data Book, table 7.03, Division of Fire chronology; Henrico County, History of Human Resources, April 2011, department-head roster, printed p. XXXI (PDF p. 56).