How Norfolk Works: The Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department

This article about Norfolk’s volunteer fire department is the first in an occasional series about how Norfolk works and who makes it all happen.

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Every day, 365 days a year, the Norfolk firehouse siren gives a single blast at the noon day hour—you can set your watch by it (which was basically the original idea). But when the siren blares at other times of the day and night it’s signaling that somewhere in Norfolk an emergency is unfolding. A house fire? A car accident? A slip on an icy hiking trail? Or perhaps—yes, this does happen—a frightened pet trapped up a tree?

Every call is different, but they all have one important thing in common: the people who respond will be your neighbors, all volunteers, carrying on a tradition that goes back over 120 years to the very beginnings of the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department. 

In the late 1700s, Norfolk was barely settled when dry weather caused hemlocks on the village green to catch fire. Word spread quickly, giving neighbors enough time to form a bucket brigade and save the nearby meeting house.

Decades later, in 1870, a wood stove used to warm the church set off another blaze. Residents once again rallied to form a bucket brigade, rescuing the church for a second time.

It was Frederick M. Shepard, a prominent landowner and community leader, who recognized in 1898 that impromptu bucket brigades were not enough to meet the public safety needs of a growing town and proposed that Norfolk establish an official fire service. Shepard’s efforts came to fruition in June of 1902 when the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD) was officially formed, ultimately with a Hook and Ladder Company and a Hose Company, both housed in the Royal Arcanum building. The intertwined letters NVFD still appear alongside the entrance to the large ground floor bay that once housed three of Norfolk’s first fire engines.

As Norfolk grew, so did the NVFD. To house additional vehicles, the town started using a garage (now demolished) located at the five-way intersection at the bottom of Mills Way. But by the 1960s, that was no longer enough, and the town began investigating construction of a completely new firehouse. 

An empty two-acre lot off Shepard Road was identified as the appropriate site and in 1971 a new firehouse was built. The  building served the town well for decades, but by the early 2000’s concerns were voiced that, like the bucket brigades of earlier times, it was no longer able to meet Norfolk’s public safety needs.

Although the town’s population was no longer growing at the rate it once did, firefighting was changing. Fires now burned faster, hotter and bigger (thanks to the synthetic materials found in just about everything), so fire trucks were becoming bigger, creating a tight squeeze inside the firehouse. Modern building codes now called for more room around each truck to prevent pinching accidents and advanced filtration and decontamination systems to remove toxic fumes and substances.

As the Shepard Road firehouse was about to turn 50, a building committee was officially formed to start  planning its replacement. It considered numerous options, including expanding the existing building, before plans were officially drawn up to construct an entirely new firehouse at the same location. 

In May of 2025, after securing more than $3 million in private donations and a $2.5 million grant from the state of Connecticut, the town will be voting on whether to invest $500,000 in current funds and take out a $3.2 million municipal bond, giving the go ahead for construction of a new  $9.3 million, 10,700 sq. ft. firehouse and clearing the way for the old building to be torn down.

Fires, Rescues, Mutual Aid and More

Norfolk’s volunteer firefighters  respond to well over 200 calls in a typical year. In 2023-34 they collectively logged over 7,100 hours of service—nearly 900 eight-hour days. Actually responding to the more than 200 incidents takes the most time (37%), but organizing, cleaning up after an incident, meetings, community activities and fundraising also require many hours—and so does training. Just about every Monday night is training night at the Norfolk firehouse and many members take part in programs at the Connecticut fire schools.

The latest statistics can be found in the minutes of the annual meetings of the  fire department that are posted here. For a breakdown of 2023-2024 time spent on various activities, see the Resource column at right.

Every year, calls generated automatically by house alarm systems are at or near the top of the list. So are situations involving medical assists, vehicular accidents, burned food and downed electrical wires. Over the years, the NVFD’s scope of responsibility has expanded beyond firefighting to include a range of rescue situations including vehicular accidents and medical assists. That has led to greater collaboration with the all-volunteer Norfolk Lions Club Ambulance that is  housed across Shepard Road from the firehouse. 

Firefighters directly join the ambulance squad on calls. And at times when the lone ambulance is already out on a call, the NVFD automatically becomes the town’s first responder for medical emergencies.

The Mutual Aid System

In addition to protecting the town, Norfolk’s fire department plays an active role in the mutual aid system relied on by neighboring towns across Connecticut’s northwest corner. 

Whenever a major incident occurs, the volunteers in Norfolk and other towns stand ready to assist each other, whether that means providing more personnel, more equipment or even a specif­ic piece of equipment. From 2022 to 2025, other towns came to assist Norfolk 25 times, while in that same period the NVFD assisted other towns in the mutual aid system 101 times. 

One of the largest mutual aid responses came as a result of the tanker truck crash in Norfolk in November 2002. As power was shut off and homes evacuated, firefighters from 20 other towns came to assist. Like Norfolk, the firefighters responding to a mutual aid call are nearly always volunteers. Only Barkhamsted, Torrington and Winsted mix volunteers with a small number of paid firefighters.

The Ropes Team

If someone falls in steep terrain anywhere in the Northwest Corner, the NVFD is likely to get the call. That’s because members of both the NVFD and the ambulance squad have gone through hours of classroom and practical sessions to learn how to perform high-angle rescues, rappelling up and down cliffs and other steep inclines, and using ropes, webbing, pulley systems and other devices, such as the Stokes basket.

Who Are Our Firefighters?

To be successful, a fire department needs people with a range of skills. In a building fire, it’s ideal to be able to tap the knowledge of people with construction and carpentry skills who know how buildings are put together and how to choose and use the appropriate tools. Many fires are caused by overloaded wires, so electricians are always in demand. Because fire trucks are essentially large, powerful, hydraulic systems on wheels, individuals with expertise in mechanics or plumbing  can play a vital role in making sure the trucks are operating at peak performance. More and more of the work in a fire department involves the use of computers so anyone with a knack for technology is welcome. Finally, a fire department is an organization and has to function like one. That requires individuals with organizational, administrative and, most important of all, people skills. 

The NVFD is always on the lookout for new members. Do you have the interest or skills to help the NVFD continue its all-volunteer tradition? Fill out an application and get started. You can find the application here.

In 2025, the NVFD had 57 active members: 41 men and 16 women, 12 who work as support staff only—they do not go out and fight fires directly—and five cadets who participate in training and select activities.

The firefighters who will be the future of the NVFD often start out during their high school years as cadets. Anyone ages 14-18 can become a cadet and take part in training alongside NVFD firefighters, attend classes (including at the Litchfield Country Regional Fire School in Torrington)  and provide support assistance at emergency sites. At age 15, a cadet can ride in a truck and at age 16 a cadet (with the appropriate training) can enter a structure that has been deemed safe. 

Cadets who go through the appropriate training are eligible to become fully certified firefighters once they turn 18. 

The NVFD is proud that many firefighters who started as cadets are part of its current leadership and have gone on to become career firefighters in other communities.

Longtime Firefighters

In the chaos of emergency response, experienced veterans are an important asset. Norfolk is proud to have a tradition of firefighters serving in the department for decades. 

The longest serving Norfolk firefighter was the late Edwin R. (Eddie) Kelley who served 66 years. Today, Norfolk has two firefighters with over five decades of experience: Richard Byrne, who joined in 1968, and Ron Zanobi, who came on board in 1971.

Fire Department Leadership

Unlike a typical civilian organization, a fire department has both an administrative structure for the organization itself and a command system that prevails when responding to an incident. 

At any incident, the rule of “unity of command” prevails. Whether it’s fighting a fire or directing traffic at a car accident, all members of the department answer to one boss at the scene and one boss only. Because all the firefighters on the scene have gone through training, they know what to do. The job of the commander is to make decisions about how best to deploy resources and adapt tactics as needed. In Norfolk, the command structure at an incident starts with the Fire Chief, 1st Assistant Fire Chief and 2nd Assistant Fire Chief. Following that there are captains and lieutenants. 

On the administrative side of the NVFD, there is a president, vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, as well as mechanics,  trustees, a public information officer and a representative to the Litchfield County Dispatch. Those involved on the administrative side are responsible for things like  finances, fundraising, adherence to rules and regulations,  and resolving disputes and personnel issues. Elections for new officers are held every year. For a current list of who holds what office in the NVFD, go here.

Training

When responding to an incident, firefighters typically serve multiple roles. For example, a building fire performing  duties on both the exterior and the interior of the burning structure.

Exterior firefighters are responsible for stretching hose lines, setting up fire ground operations (lighting, staging area, etc.), collecting accountability tags and general scene support. Interior firefighters enter structures and participate in firefighting activities within the building, including fire suppression, search and rescue, and ventilation, while wearing self-contained breathing apparatus. 

The state of Connecticut requires all interior firefighters—whether paid or volunteer—to undergo extensive training. Training takes place at the state Fire Academy complex at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks as well as in regional fire schools, such as the Litchfield County Regional Fire School on Burr Mountain in Torrington.

A fully certified firefighter who can perform all the duties of an interior firefighter must undergo more than 200 hours of both classroom and live training, including with actual fires and hazardous materials scenarios. After being certified, firefighters continue their education each year with classroom study as well as hands-on, live fire training. 

The NVFD holds multiple drills throughout the year to prepare firefighters for specific challenges such as cold-water rescues, chimney fires, vehicle extractions, hazardous material handling and more. Firefighters in the NVFD typically train two hours each week with the occasional weekend training at the Norfolk fire house.

Although certification and ongoing training are required of all active-duty firefighters, members of the department who volunteer to provide support services and do not actually take part in firefighting/rescues do not have to meet any training requirements. Cadets participate in training and can become fully certified as an interior firefighter at age 18. 

Equipment

Norfolk may be relatively small in terms of population, but its wide range of properties and varied terrain pose challenges to fire and rescue services. When a call comes in, firefighters must quickly adapt based on whether the incident involves a fire in the center of town, in a remotely located cabin or a crash somewhere on Norfolk’s more than 70 miles of state and local roads. Is there a source of water nearby? Are hazardous materials involved? Does someone need to be extricated? Norfolk firefighters preplan and train to send the proper apparatus and equipment to mitigate each type of emergency.

To respond as effectively as possible, the NVFD has developed a versatile fleet of vehicles that are engineered and equipped to address as many different situations as possible. This includes fire engines, tankers, squad cars, ATVs and trailers. They are listed in the Resources column on the right-hand side of this page.

Many of the firefighters carry an audio pager designed specifically for emergency response personnel. For any ongoing incident, the audio pagers deliver a complete voice recording providing the location and other information. The audio paging system is designed to be more reliable than traditional cellular networks in which messages might experience delays.

Firefighters today in Norfolk and elsewhere are also making greater use of phone apps that can quickly provide them with additional information, including maps of the area, building plans, hydrant locations and who else is responding to the call. The Litchfield County Emergency Dispatch organization has invested in an app that can be used by area firefighters.

Health and Safety

For the last 20 years, there’s been a growing concern nationwide over the health and cancer risks faced by first responders. In the case of firefighters, this includes the ill effects that can result from exposure to toxic fumes during both fires and training exercises, inadequate ventilation of diesel exhaust inside firehouses, as well as potential injuries (and deaths) caused by poor firehouse design (not enough space between vehicles, for example.) 

In 2006, the  International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) acknowledged cancer as a major occupational hazard. This was followed a few years later by a major study of 30,000 firefighters by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health which found elevated rates of several cancers including multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, esophageal, prostate and testicular cancer.

In 2022, the International Agency for Research on Cancer reclassified firefighting as a Group 1 carcinogenic occupation, meaning there is sufficient evidence it causes cancer in humans.

It’s not just exposure to toxic fumes while fighting fires. Firehouses themselves can be a source of long-term health risks due to poor station design, inadequate ventilation, cross-contamination of living and work areas, and outdated infrastructure. Organizations like the National Fire Protection Association, the International Association of Firefighters, the Firefighter Cancer Support Network and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health have all weighed in on these issues.

As a result of these concerns, construction and workplace safety regulations have been adapted to specifically protect firefighters. This affects the apparatus and clothing firefighters wear, the design of firehouses and the systems and processes that need to be in place to reduce exposure to toxic substances.

For example, modern firehouse building codes now require at least three feet of clear space around each vehicle to help prevent accidents. Also, new firehouses must now be equipped with modern ventilation/air filtration systems as well as decontamination facilities for removing fumes and chemical residues from clothes and equipment. These and other regulations were primary factors behind Norfolk’s decision in 2020 to build a new firehouse to replace the 1971 building.

Funding

From a financial perspective, Norfolk benefits greatly from having a fire department staffed by volunteers. Retaining even a minimal paid staff to provide these public safety services 24/7/365 would require operating expenses ranging from hundreds of thousands to well over $1 million dollars per year. 

However, even though the members of the Norfolk fire department are all volunteers—donating their time and receiving no compensation other than a break on their property taxes—there are still expenses, and they are rising significantly. The firehouse needs to be kept heated and with electrical power. Fuel must be purchased for the trucks. The firefighters must undergo annual physical exams and attend training for which there are fees. 

The biggest operating expenses are typically maintaining trucks and gear:

• Basic turnout gear (helmet, coat, pants, gloves, boots, etc.) that might have cost $2,000 10 years ago can now easily be double that. 
• SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) units that might have been $4,000 10 years ago now can cost $6,000 to $8,000 each.
• Firetruck costs have skyrocketed—a new pumper truck can cost $400,000 to $800,000, while ladder trucks can exceed $1 million.

The Town Budget

The total Norfolk budget for tax purposes in 2024/25 was $8.5 million, which includes both the $4.3 million in operating costs of the town as well as school expenses of $4.22 million. The NVFD was allocated about $117,000—just under three percent of the operating budget. This includes the cost of maintaining trucks, buying gas and diesel fuel, the annual firefighter physicals, getting new and updated gear, heating the firehouse, replacing fire hose—the budget lists more than two dozen individual line items.

The line item in the town budget of $88,000 for hydrants gets paid to the Aquarion Water Company to maintain the 90 hydrants and associated water mains in Norfolk. The NVFD uses water from the hydrants to fight fires and refill apparatus but gets a separate water bill from Aquarion for water used at the firehouse.

The full 2024/2025 town budget by department can be viewed here.

As part of its budget, the town also provides financing for the purchase of new fire trucks. For example, the town has typically borrowed to  replace a fire engine every ten years, allowing the oldest trucks to be retired after 30 years. In some cases, older vehicles are repurposed by the town. For example, the NVFD’s 1999 Tanker 100 and 1995 B50 chassis were both given to the town Department of Public Works after they were no longer capable of serving as fire apparatus.

The town pays into an incentive program for emergency services volunteers (both fire and ambulance). This provides an abatement on local property taxes for those who both volunteer regularly and keep their training up to date. The abatement goes up to $2,000 based on the level of participation and certifications held.

Fundraising and Grants

To supplement the funds provided via tax dollars, the NVFD actively raises money throughout the year. This includes hosting popular events such as Karaoke Night, Silent Auction, Breakfast with Santa and the annual Memorial Day Road Race. The NVFD also conducts an annual end-of-year appeal. 

Because the NVFD is a tax-exempt non-profit, all contributions are tax deductible. The fundraisers and annual appeal support the overall mission of the NVFD with the department typically allocating the funds that are donated to specific causes, such as purchasing a new truck, radios or firefighting equipment.

You can learn more about donating money to the NVFD here.

The NVFD also actively applies for funds available through state and federal grants. While the grant writing is time-consuming, the NVFD has experienced significant success, sometimes by teaming with other town fire departments, such as Winsted. From 2010-2024, the NVFD received grant money totaling just under $1.1 million.

The Tradition Continues

For most people, the thought of losing life and property in a fire, or a car accident or some other tragic incident is a nightmare that never fully goes away. But it’s also true that the sustained efforts that go into protecting people and property—keeping those devastating consequences at bay—can lead to stronger bonds of community.

That was true here in Norfolk more than two centuries ago when townspeople formed a bucket brigade to save the meeting house, and it’s true today in twenty-first century Norfolk. 

For all our high-tech wizardry, the job of saving lives and protecting property still comes down to the tradition of neighbors helping neighbors. Keep it in mind when you next hear the siren alerting us all to another emergency.

—Joe Kelly

P.S. Yes, the rumor is true. Despite its focus on saving lives and property, the NVFD has rescued many cats and dogs…and even the occasional duck.