Charles Virgin, 75, moved to Warrington from Pensacola decades ago after getting married.
One day he saw firefighters responding to a blaze on Old Corry Field Road and he noticed something that made him want to join the crew.
“I was coming down and I stopped and looked, and I said, ‘There’s no Blacks,’” Virgin remembered. “So, I came and put in an application, and I was accepted when I did.”
That was about 50 years ago, and the Warrington Volunteer Fire Department has been an important part of his life ever since. He was even named Firefighter of the Year from 1986 to 1990.
Like many of the longtime firefighters who volunteered at the station, he did it for years for the love of the work, of helping people, and for the comradery.
Retired Warrington volunteer firefighter Bernie Weekley has a long family history with the department, which was started in the late 1940s.
He remembers his dad, uncle and grandfather helped get the station started back when it was originally located on Second Street in Navy Point.
“I’ve been here close to 30 years at this station,” Weekley said. “The whole family has been in the fire system. Having the equipment to help people using donations from the community, it worked out perfectly.”
The volunteers kept the department going for decades with support from the Warrington community and their own blood, sweat and tears.
The station is one of only two in the county that still has an iconic fire pole for firefighters to slide down from sleeping quarters into the garage.
In its heyday, up to 60 people volunteered at the department, but over time those numbers dwindled.
It was hard when they realized in recent years that they no longer had the time, money or manpower to keep up the building at 20 N. Boulevard, and they made the tough decision to turn the building and the department over to Escambia County.
“We all had it in our heart, but we couldn’t maintain it if we had to stay here another 10 years,” Virgin said.
Escambia honors Warrington volunteer firefighters with plaque
To commemorate their service and the department they helped build, Escambia County installed a bronze marker at the station in honor of the volunteer firefighters and dedicated it during a brief ceremony on June 17.
“Sort of sad giving it away,” retired volunteer firefighter Richard Gardner said, “but the memories will always be there.”
Escambia County District 2 Commissioner Mike Kohler, who represents the area, was there for the dedication.
He worked with the volunteers to turn the fire station over to the county.
He said he plans to invest some money in repairs and upgrades for the department, but he is still assessing how much as nearly all the fire stations in his district either need to be repaired or replaced.
“We have the same issue at Myrtle Grove Volunteer Fire Department,” Kohler said. “We’re trying to attain it the same way we did this one, and that one, I think, is in worse shape than this fire station.”
Escambia’s board of county commissioners recently approved a $34 million proposal to replace two fire stations with new ones, add two new additional fire stations, and rehabilitate and add living quarters to a fifth station.
The funding will come from an unallocated portion of the local option sales tax fund.
The two replacement stations would be at Escambia County Fire Rescue Station No. 11 at 7209 Lillian Highway in the Myrtle Grove area and Station No. 14 at 9350 Gulf Beach Highway in the Pleasant Grove community, at an estimated cost of $8.5 million each.
Although the county, which pays firefighters, is taking over volunteer departments like Warrington’s, volunteers are still welcome to apply.
Escambia County Fire Chief Adam Harrison says people can apply to work at a fire department in the county.
“You can work anywhere you want to,” Harrison said. “If you live in the Warrington community or the Pleasant Grove community, and you’re like, ‘I want to volunteer for my local department,’ you can certainly apply.”
If you’re interested in volunteering, Harrison said folks can apply online at myescambia.com.
If you drop by the Warrington Fire Department, there’s a good chance you might meet one of the retired crew members. They still plan to come by and visit.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Warrington Volunteer Fire Dept. was a brotherhood. Giving keys to Escambia sad but needed.
Reporting by Mollye Barrows, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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