Welcome to Abingdon Fire Department
Abingdon Fire Department is located in the Historic Town of Abingdon, the County seat of Southwest Virginia’s Washington County, part of the Appalachian Region. The Department was formed in 1808 and chartered in 1949. On March 1, 2016 the Town of Abingdon hired its first full time Fire Chief. The 49 Member Fire Department is one of nine departments within Washington County covering 60 square miles of forested rolling steep rural countryside providing fire service operations for 16,000 people in our district. The Department faces the challenges of structure fire control in a small commercial district, several assisted living facilities, school buildings, small apartment complexes, several small manufacturing facilities, along with several hundred rural residences and wildland interfaces.
Past and Present Fire Chiefs of the Abingdon Fire Department
- J. E. Deaton, W. R. Sheoff Morrison, Sam Mothner – Appointed Officers of the Abingdon Fire Company – January 21, 1890
- J. E. Deaton – Elected Captain – August 8, 1890
- W. T. Baldwin – Elected Captain – January 29, 1891
- George M. Briget – Elected Chief – February 29, 1892
- J. F. Branson – Elected Chief – April 6, 1925
- S. H. Rhea – Elected Chief – 1928
- Dr. F. H. Smith – Elected Chief – August 4, 1930
- A. C. Hutton – Elected Chief – August 4, 1943 | Resigned February 7, 1944
- Robert Eden – Elected Chief – January 1, 1945 | Resigned August 7, 1950
- J. Nelson Berry – Appointed Chief – September 1, 1950
- H. M. ‘Bo’ McCormick, Jr. – Appointed Chief – January 6, 1964 | Retired June 30, 1996
- M. L. ‘Mert’ Odum – Appointed Chief – July 1, 1996 | Retired September 30, 2002
- John W. Crigger, Sr. – Appointed Chief – October 1, 2002 | Retired December 31, 2002
- Joe W. ‘Joey’ Burke, Jr. – Appointed Chief – January 1, 2003 | Retired December 31, 2013
- John F. McCormick – Appointed Chief – January 1, 2014 | Retired June 30, 2022
- Timothy M. Estes, Sr. – Appointed Chief – July 1, 2022
Meet Our Brave Team
Alex Renfro – Firefighter
Position: Firefighter Years of Service: 5 Years Job Training Virginia Fire Officer Academy – Class of 2022
Bob Howard – Master Firefighter
Firefighter of the Year – 2017 Position: Master Firefighter Years of Service: 51 Years Additional Position: Life Member Retired Captain...
Bobby Fields, Jr. – Engineer
Firefighter of the Year – 2021 Position: Engineer Years of Service: 8 Years Job Training: NIMS – 100, 200, 700, 701, 702, 706, 800...
Brandon Gobble – Captain
Firefighter of the Year – 2018 Position: Captain Years of Service: 17 Years
Carr Blankenship III – Firefighter
Position: Firefighter Years of Service: 5 Years Job Training Firefighter I, II Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations EVOC I, II, III Basic...
Chip McCall – Engineer
Position: Engineer Years of Service: 20 Years
Crow Clark – Master Firefighter
Firefighter of the Year – 2008 Position: Master Firefighter Years of Service: 56 Years
Gary Bailey – Firefighter
Position: Firefighter Years of Service: 4 years Job Training: Firefighter 1 HazMat Operations
Gerald Thompson – Deputy Fire Chief
Position: Deputy Fire Chief Years of Service: 54 Years Profession Battalion Chief
John Garrett – Firefighter
Position: Firefighter Years of Service: 40 Years
Johnny Perdue – Lieutenant
Position: Lieutenant Years of Service: 11 Years
Mark Gobble – Master Firefighter
Position: Master Firefighter Years of Service: 15 Years
Mark McCormick – Assistant Fire Chief
Firefighter of the Year – 2015 Position: Assistant Fire Chief Years of Service: 16 Years Job Training: Virginia Fire Officer Academy...
Marty Berry – Deputy Chief
Firefighter of the Year – 2019 Position: Deputy Chief Years of Service: 46 Years
Ray Osborne, Jr. – Deputy Fire Chief
Firefighter of the Year – 2011 Position: Deputy Fire Chief Years of Service: 49 Years Job Training: Virginia Fire Officer Academy –...
Samantha Fields – Captain
Firefighter of the Year – 2020 Position: Captain Years of Service: 14 Years