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If you are planning to move into or out of Woodbridge, VA, Movers USA is your answer.  Movers USA is a local full service company which can handle every aspect of your move smoothly and without stress.  Just call Movers USA or click her for a free estimate to begin your moving process.

In the meantime, enjoy the brief history of Woodbridge, VA, included here.

A Brief History of Woodbridge, Virginia

The Local Fire Department, Woodbridge, VA

History, as it pertains to this organization and all other things, is simply a matter of random chance. With regard to O.W.L., we know how the beginning to present day ended. Those years in between could not have been foretold by even the most wise of all mankind.

Recent memories are carried by all but the very new; many still remember events and people of more recent happenings of say, the last ten years or so. Fewer still have thoughts and ties to the past twenty or so years, and virtually gone are those who lived the beginning.

Therefore, a series unrelated facts, events, people, and circumstances have all combine to form this organization, believed by all who care, to be greater than the whole. So many years have rushed by - not altogether quietly but always together.

Though the department was rumored to have started in September 1936, the first meeting was held in the house R. S. Hall, on September 16, 1938. The Town Council of the Town of Occoquan, Virginia discussed the need for a fire department and how to purchase the apparatus. Within two days, at a meeting at the Occoquan High School, Fred Lynn was elected Fire Chief and Charles Pierce the first President of what was to become the Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton V.F.D. The actual charter still took another two years and was granted in September 1940.

The first apparatus purchased was a 1918 American LaFrance, purchased in used condition from the City of Baltimore, suburb of Eastport, Maryland.

The original fire station was located in Occoquan near what is Mill Street and Poplar Alley today. The station consisted of just two apparatus bays, one for the pumper and one used for everything else.

In 1946, another, much larger, building was obtained from Leary Lumber Company and remodeled as a fire station. By this time the original pumper had given way to its predecessor. A 1939 International Class A, the new station housed this unit as well as a brush truck and civil defense vehicle.

In 1958 O.W.L. expanded operations to a newly erected facility to be of greater assistance to the citizens of Woodbridge, Virginia. The station located on Jefferson Davis Highway, named "Friends Station," was then O.W.L.'s second station. The station was later assigned Company #12 as a call number. When the original fire station was moved from the Town of Occoquan to it current location on F Street it was assigned Company #2.

Company #2 (Botts Station) was dedicated on August 23, 1969. Six apparatus bays, all the required facilities, and a large community hall made it one of the most formidable structures in the area at that time. The hall at Botts station is used for Bingo twice weekly. It always has been and will continue to be a safe haven for citizenry and haggard travelers in time of trouble.

At the time Station #2 was being dedicated, a group of individuals began the process of planning contingencies for yet another station. The Lake Ridge housing development was growing at a rapid pace and it had a need for more immediate coverage. After more than ten years of planning the membership of O.W.L. built their third station. Dedicated in the summer of 1980, Lake Ridge Station, located on Hedges Run Drive expanded our service.

Soon after, Station 12 moved from its cramped quarters on Jefferson Davis Highway to its current location on Montgomery Avenue. The station was dedicated on October 7, 1990 as the William H. Spicer Sr. Memorial Station with the ability to house ten pieces of fire and EMS apparatus.

Both Station 14 and Station 2 have seen renovations since their original openings. In 1994, Station 14 received a second floor with expanded classroom and living space. In 1996, Station 2 received the second of two renovations with the addition of an additional ambulance bay and extended living quarters and office space. The community hall also received a much-needed facelift.

A history of O.W.L. must also include mention of another important aspect of the fire department - the rescue squad that was formed in 1955 to provide emergency medical services to the community. With the closest hospital over thirty minutes away through winding roads, the rescue squad had the opportunity numerous times to test their skills. This type of transport lasted until the building of Potomac Hospital within minutes of all of OWL's fire stations.

In the beginning, the squad was manned mostly by volunteer firefighters but was augmented by the ladies. Members of O.W.L. take great pride in the fact that their membership was the first to break this barrier. Females are now an integral part of not only the rescue squad, but also all of the workings of the department including firefighter, incident officer and pump operator. One of O.W.L.'s highest annual honors in the "Betty Limerick" service award, which is given annually to the person reflecting the true spirit of volunteerism.

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