Kirby looks back while preparing for the future.
From left are Dave Parker, Sue Yamashita and Pete Kirby in the late 1980s. Photo by Bonnie Hobbs.
From left: Dave Parker and Sue Yamashita give a Lifetime Achievement Award to Pete Kirby on Saturday.
Charlie Singleton (left), former Vienna VFD chief, gives Pete Kirby a plaque honoring him in the Congressional Record.
Centreville  During Pete Kirby’s retirement celebration Saturday night, a video highlighting his career was shown. He then received several awards.
Dave Parker and Sue Yamashita, who rode with Kirby when he drove an ambulance for Centreville’s volunteer fire department, presented Kirby with a Lifetime Achievement Award. “No one made me laugh like Pete,” said Parker.
Then, addressing the crowd, Kirby said, “I never expected anything like this. I look around this room and see parts of my life, and I can’t express how much you all mean to me.” He said how heartwarming it was, not just to see family and friends, but people he’s served with at Centreville’s Fire Station 17, Vienna’s Station 2, the state association and the police 911 call center, where he dispatched fire calls.
Another time, still age 12, he helped direct traffic while Fairfax City and Vienna firefighters were battling another blaze on Jermantown. Afterward, one of them told him he could volunteer at the Vienna station when he was 16, which he did — and the rest is history.
In the early days, he drove both an ambulance and a fire engine. He later became a command officer but, since the majority of calls are for medical emergencies, he continued driving an ambulance. He served as chief from 1992-2006 and then assistant chief. He also became qualified as an incident safety officer.
As chief, Kirby modernized Centreville’s fleet by buying different types of ambulances and fire engines with better capabilities. He also campaigned for an all-terrain vehicle called a Gator, so they could reach off-road patients and then transfer them to a regular ambulance.
During Kirby’s tenure, he helped develop an agreement with the Board of Supervisors for Station 17 to co-operate the new West Centreville Station 38. So both stations provide its people and vehicles. Kirby also acquired two, fire-hazard houses to teach children about fire safety. And his station started the Emergency Medical Bike Team to provide medical care at special events, such as festivals.
Among the big fires was a three-alarm blaze at an apartment complex on Woodmere Drive. "It was challenging because a lot of the fire was in the attic, where we couldn't reach it," said Kirby. "So Chantilly [firefighters] came and brought a special piece of equipment." Another time, two residential buildings on Braddock Springs Road caught fire. "It was well-advanced before anyone notified us," said Kirby. "We had a close call because a ceiling collapsed and separated our crew members and we worried that we'd lost someone in the fire. But everyone made it out safely."
Station 17 became a shelter for the people displaced by that fire, and the station's Ladies Auxiliary provided comfort and aid. It was also used to shelter 25-30 scared and soggy Cub Scouts who were stranded by a flood. "Heavy rains flooded the western part of the county while a Scout troop from Maryland was camping in Bull Run Regional Park," said Kirby. "The water rose quickly and they became trapped, so we had to rescue them. The Ladies Auxiliary provided blankets and hot food and even opened the Bingo game so they had something to do."
On 9/11, Kirby was on duty for five days straight after the attack. The first three days, he was on an engine, countywide, covering empty stations that had responded to the Pentagon. The next two days, he served as battalion commander for other officers who were also at the scene. "On 9/11, we mobilized everything we could muster to respond to the attack," he said. "If the Coke machine had had a red light on it, I'd have put a crew on it and sent it, too."
But, he stressed Saturday, “This is a team sport. I’m humbled by the honor and appreciative that you all took time out of your lives to be here tonight.” Afterward, Kirby said he was “overwhelmed. It was an amazing turnout, and I’m humbled by all the nice things people said. I thank everybody in the community for their support while I was chief, and everybody in the fire department for what I've gotten to do. But I couldn't have done any of it without my family's support."