Fire & Rescue Information

The Edgewater Fire Department was established on January 19, 1948. Prior to the establishment of the fire department, the forest rangers and New Smyrna Beach Fire Department extinguished the fires in the Town of Edgewater. In 1946, the Town of Edgewater had a police chief who lived on the northeast corner of Park Avenue. Police Chief Bates acquired several Indian Tanks from the Forestry Department and hauled them around in his 1936 Ford. Whenever a brush fire broke out in Edgewater, some of the area youths would clamor to help out with the responding adults to assist in putting out the fires. At that time, the town was about two blocks wide and about two miles long with approximately 300 residents. In late 1947, after a dry season and a number of brush fires in the area, a group of about 12 men met at the Village Improvement Association Hall, which stood on the hill behind where the police station and the community center stand today. These men discussed the need for a fire department in the community and later established The Edgewater Volunteer Firemen's Association. The department started with 18 firemen including a chief, assistant chief, first captain, second captain, first lieutenant and second lieutenant.