We’ve been covering local history throughout 2023, and we’re finishing off the year with another book by local author Brent Lewis. This month we’re focusing on his book “A History of the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department.” The book is an oral history, comprised primarily of information Brent learned from interviews conducted between 2008 and 2010. Learn about what life was like before the fire department, how they trained, and more!
Centreville got its first fire department all the way back in 1889. Queenstown got theirs in 1935. Kent Island wouldn’t get its fire department until 1947. When Brent asked sole surviving KIVFD charter member Billy Lane what happened to homes when there were fires on Kent Island before they had a department, he bluntly responded, “It burned down.”
Billy recalls walking home on Kent Island while his parents were seeing a movie in Queenstown. He saw a glow in the distance and thought his house was on fire, but as he grew nearer, he realized it was his neighbor’s house. Locals tried dumping buckets of water on the flaming house while keeping children and pets away. His parents heard news of the nearby fire and started driving home from Queenstown. On their way they passed the Queenstown Fire Truck that was on its way to help… but it had run out of gas. Life on Kent Island was quite precarious without its own fire department.
After a string of fires in the 30’s and 40’s the need for a local fire department became increasingly evident. Four locals met and decided to create the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department.
When first founded the fire department did more than just putting out fires. Before they even had their first fire truck, they had an ambulance, which was a gift from the mayor of Baltimore. The ambulance was procured with the help of Mary Catherine Kirwan, granddaughter of James Kirwan. If you’ve read Brent’s History of Kent Island, or our articles about it (July 20, 2023, https://issuu.com/theshoreupdate/docs/shore_update_july_20_2023), you’ll know that her grandfather saved Kent Island from being turned into a military testing zone. The department’s first act of service was taking three people to the hospital who were in a car accident at Matapeake Ferry.
The department’s first fire truck was old at the time but came with many of the modern utilities you’d expect from a fire truck, including ladders, hoses, and a water tank. To train firemen the fire department did controlled burns, burning down unused buildings and occasionally starting marsh fires in the narrows. They would blindfold themselves and tangle up the hose and test tracing it to get out of a smoky house.
If you would like to learn more about the history of firefighting on Kent Island, make sure to check out Brent’s book. You can learn more about colorful firefighting locals, the future of the department and more. You can buy Brent’s book from Secant Publishing or from a few local shops.