Clendenin Volunteer Fire Department has a long standing history within the town of Clendenin, and northern Kanawha county. in 1910, construction of waterworks began in town, allowing for a hose and ladder fire department to be created in place of the previous “bucket” fire department. This department operated out of the basement of town hall where the Clendenin Police Department is located now. The department operated for years, but there is little to no history documented about our department then. In 1951 community members decided that the town needed modern fire protection from conflagrations within their community. Twelve charter members came together to draft a mission statement, and a response territory. They submitted the charter to the West Virginia Fire Marshal’s Office and became an official fire department within the state. These members started their journey with two fire engine, a 1927 Studebaker combination pumper, and a 1930 Ford Model AA combination pumper that was housed in the garage under City Hall.

The original fire territory that Clendenin covered was from the city limits of Charleston, north to Roane county, east to Clay county, and south into rural eastern Kanawha county. In total the estimated response area for the fire department at this time was over 200 square miles. It wouldn’t be until 1959 when Pinch VFD came to existence that the territory would be reduced. The department operated with two fire engines until 1958 when they bought a US Air Force surplus engine. This engine, a 1942 “Chevrolet/Oren” fire engine was picked up in Virginia and driven home where it would go on to serve the community until 1985 when it was sold to be put on display at the Charleston Town Center Mall. In the mid 1950’s the department moved into the second station, which is directly attached to city hall. It is a two bay station with enough room to house the three engines that they had come to operate. In 1975 the department expanded again and added a substation on the other end of town. This building was a two story single bay building that served the department until combining both stations into our current building. 

From the 1960’s into the early 90’s the Town of Clendenin grew exponentially. The town became a booming community in the area. There were multiple industries in the area and supported a healthy family community. People came from all the surrounding areas to shop at the grocery store, see a movie at the Roxie movie theater, and buy lumber and household supplies from the Clendenin Lumber company. During this time the Clendenin VFD grew as well. More fire engines were purchased to support the growing population and call value. Tankers, and utility vehicles were also purchased to support the needs of the growing department. In the late 1980’s the department was operating three engines, a small rescue, a tanker, and a boat out of its small two bay station. The decision was made that the current fire station had been outgrown and they needed something bigger. In 1989, after 38 years in the current station the department decided to build new. The new station was built only two houses down from the current one. This state of the art building was a one and a half story, eight bay station that could house every apparatus and member with ease. They added many necessities to the building such as a meeting area, kitchen, communications room, and offices. The second floor of this building was left unfinished for future expansion.

After building the new station the department spent the next ten years modernizing the way it responded to emergencies. The department began operating and handling emergencies the way any large metropolitan department would. The department became very aggressive in its firefighting tactics and started providing more training for its members and focused on diversifying its approach to handling emergencies. During this time the department broadened its capabilities with its focus on technical rescue such as rope, water, and hazardous materials. In 1990 the department partnered with Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority to start providing medical services through the fire department to north-eastern Kanawha county. This program was the first of its kind within Kanawha county and became known as the First Responder Program. This program trained and placed medical providers in fire stations to respond to emergencies with the ambulance service.

In 1997, the department decided that its fleet was aging and its busiest engine needed to be replaced. The department at the time was operating a rescue, tanker, and three engine companies. The fleet consisted of all two-man conventional cabs on its apparatus. The new engine purchased was a 1997 “HME/Smeal” engine. This engine was much more capable than any apparatus in the fleet. This engine was capable of carrying one thousand gallons of water in its tank and capable of flowing more than one thousand five hundred gallons of water per minute from its pump. This engine was equipped with a 6 man cab and a large diesel motor that was capable of handling the hilly terrain much better than the small gasoline engines in the fleet prior.

The department continued on its path of growth throughout the late 90’s and early 2000’s. In 2005, the department expanded its capabilities again by purchasing a large heavy rescue truck. The truck purchased was a 2005 “HME/Summit” heavy rescue, with capabilities of covering all technical rescue disciplines. This truck was the largest and most capable rescue truck in Kanawha county at that time. This truck continued to push the department forward in its technical rescue abilities.

The department saw a large change in its response to structure fires in 2010. In years past a fire department would handle almost all emergencies on their own with very little help from other departments. This means that unless a large building was on fire they would not call for assistance but rather handle it themselves. In 2010, the fire chiefs from Clendenin, Pinch, and Frame VFDs came together and developed an automatic mutual aid response system. This system would dispatch all three departments on a reported structure fire at once. This increased all three departments’ capabilities and safety when operating, and reduced the workload on the members. This agreement would go on to be adopted by every other fire department in Kanawha county and even spread to the bordering counties.

Clendenin VFD, the Town of Clendenin, and north-eastern Kanawha county faced its largest disaster in the summer of 2016. On June 23, 2016 large scale flooding in WV took place. The Clendenin area was one of the hardest hit areas in the state. The department took in nearly one thousand calls for assistance in a matter of two days and operated on more than a hundred active rescues. The department assisted hundreds of people and families during rescue and recovery operations. During this time the department was facing its own challenges while still providing fire service to the community. The department suffered major losses just like the rest of the community. The station had five and a half feet of flood water in it, which damaged and ruined almost everything in the station. Thankfully the only apparatus that was damaged was a pickup truck. It took the department almost five years to fully recover and rebuild after the flood. The station was completely remodeled and numerous items in the station were replaced or repaired during this time.

The members of the department take great pride in providing the very best fire protection to their community. We thank the excellent leadership that has led the department from the very beginning into the department that it is today. We also recognize and thank the community because without their support we couldn’t be what we are today.