aboutvv

History of the Valley Volunteers

The Valley Volunteers were organized in 1955, by a group of volunteer firefighters. One of the organization's main purposes was to provide a firefighting force for the small rural community of Carmel Valley. As in most small communities, volunteers are necessary to protect the public from fire and provide emergency medical and rescue services.

The Valley Volunteers are made up of people from all walks of like, providing a combination of experience and personalities. All of our volunteers are required to be residents of the Carmel Valley Village area. Over the many years, this group of dedicated citizens has proven to be the best trained and most efficient firefighters in Monterey County. Since the beginning, the Valley Volunteers had a partnership with the Red Cross to provide ambulance service for Carmel Valley. As times changed, the Red Cross cancelled the ambulance service, so the Valley Volunteers started their own ambulance service with neighboring fire departments.

The original Carmel Valley Fire District was one of a few districts provided with an OES (Office of Emergency Services) state owned fire engine, to respond to emergencies throughout the state of California. Our Volunteers are given 20 minutes notice to respond to any emergency and are deployed for 3-7 days at a time. Some incidents can last for months. We have responded to fires and earthquakes throughout the State and received commendations from many mayors and counties.

The Valley Volunteers have always played a huge part in the community of Carmel Valley. The Carmel Valley Little League used to play their baseball games at the fire station. The Fireman's Ball was a dance that the citizens enjoyed for decades. We have always provided the community with such events as the annual Easter Egg Hunt, the Fiesta parade, Fiesta Pancake Breakfast, the Santa Fly-in and parade, as well as the annual Santa delivery on Christmas Eve' to the children of the community.

Since 1955, the amount of required training has increased significantly and this has made recruiting and retaining volunteers more difficult. However, the dedication, pride, and commitment of the Valley Volunteers have kept the community of the Carmel Valley Village safe for decades.

The Valley Volunteers were also honored by receiving the Certificate of Merit for the October 17, 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake for extraordinary service in support of earthquake response and recovery operations.