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Leesburg Fire Department marks 150 years as chief highlights legacy and service area growth
Summary
The Leesburg Fire Department is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. Fire Chief Joe Mirra reflected on the department's volunteer origins, expansion of its service area to more than 25 city square miles and assistance across nearly 100 square miles, and its continued focus on lifesaving culture and training.
The Leesburg Fire Department is marking its 150th anniversary this year, and Fire Chief Joe Mirra told Inside Leesburg that the milestone reflects a long tradition of community service dating back to 1875. "For the last hundred and 50 years, men and women from Leesburg stood by day and night ready to answer the call," Mirra said.
Mirra traced the department's roots to a grassroots volunteer effort in which neighbors fought fires with bucket brigades. He said the department has grown from a compact downtown force with two early stations to protecting more than 25 square miles within city limits and assisting across almost 100 square miles through mutual aid and interagency agreements. "Just in size, geographically, our population has grown, you know, tremendously," Mirra said.
The anniversary episode put those numbers in context by noting other service milestones — including a period when the department ran ambulance service and the department's role as an early adopter of advanced life support in the county. Mirra said the department's present-day mix of technology, training and culture reflects both that history and the demands of a larger service area.
