About Us
We are an all volunteer fire department serving southern Wayne County, NC. Our resident base is approximately 8,700 residents with an average of 240 calls per year. We run mutual aide calls with five neighboring departments including Mar Mac, Dudley, Goldsboro, Indian Springs and Elroy. Our run calls include fire, medical, motor vehicle accidents and water rescue calls. We have a highly educated staff from career firefighters to certified firefighters with many years of experience and education. There is always a place at Arrington for new members with the desire to serve their community and reap the rewards of helping their neighbors.
Arrington is part of the ARRMAC water rescue team. ARRMAC is a joint effort of Arrington and Mar-Mac fire departments, working closely with Wayne County Sheriffs office, in order to effectively and efficiently conduct water rescues in the county. The ARRMAC team also conducts land searches, and remote patient rescue utilizing ATVs.
History’s not was, It is
History
The history of Arrington Fire Department goes back to 1956. At that time there were four departments in Dudley. In 1961, the four departments of Dudley were reorganized into Dudley, Mar-mac, Arrington and Thoroughfare.
Back in 1967 when Richard W. Tyler was fire chief, the department proved to be considerably helpful to the community. During that year the Neuse River flooded severely. The firefighters shuttled people back and forth from the city. They used trucks which held numerous people at one time. It was also around this time that the department purchased its first new vehicle and also built a brush truck with the use of government surplus supplies.
Out most interesting even in history occurred 8 years later in 1975. At this time, a plane departing for Egling Air Force Base, Florida crashed on Emmaus Church Road. Billy Grady, Arrington’s chief at the time, led the department to assist in suppressing the fire. The notable part of this is the location. Two years after this plane crashed, Arrington Volunteer Fire Department was built at the exact same location.
During summer of 1996 the Neuse River flooded its banks again. This flood was more of a hindrance than major devastation. Although the firefighters proved to be useful as always getting supplies to people who were stranded.
In September of 1999 after two hurricanes, the Neuse River flooded, Again. This time the flooding was catastrophic. About 10 miles of Arrington’s district was un-surpassable. This proved to be much more difficult than the community and volunteers could handle alone. At this time about ten National Guardsmen moved into the station to help keep order in the community and help out wherever needed. The firefighters rescued numerous people and animals from the flood waters. They also fed animals daily that were stranded in the middle of the water on high ground. they would patrol on boats to keep looters from helping themselves to victims belonging. The Ladies Auxiliary was there to help all along the way; from answering the phones to cooking all meals for three weeks straight. After it was all said and done Wayne County along with Arrington Fire District saw major devastation. This was “The Flood of the Century”