This Day in Henrico History: Sept. 27 – Henrico names acting chief of its fire departments

On Sept. 27, 1943, Henrico County named P.L. Burnett acting chief of all county fire departments, an important step in the development of what eventually became today's Henrico Division of Fire.

At the time, Henrico's firefighting system bore little resemblance to the countywide operation residents know today. Only two fire stations were providing protection for the entire county, with the City of Richmond assisting in certain areas, according to Henrico's historical records.

The county's organized fire-protection system was still relatively young. A Sandston-Highland Springs station had opened at Nine Mile Road and Holly Street in August 1941. The following January, Richmond's annexation of western Henrico absorbed the Westhampton station on Maple Avenue, which became Richmond Fire Station 19.

Burnett's appointment on Sept. 27, 1943 placed the county's fire departments under a single acting chief while they operated as part of Henrico's Road Department.

Henrico's system continued expanding after World War II. The Glenwood Farms Volunteer Fire Department was organized along Mechanicsville Turnpike in 1948, and the Tuckahoe Fire Department followed in 1949. The Tuckahoe station on Patterson Avenue became the first county facility constructed specifically for use as a fire station.

The Sept. 27 appointment provides a snapshot of how modest Henrico's fire-protection network remained in the early 1940s – and one step in its evolution toward a unified countywide fire service.

Source: Henrico County Historical Data Book.