On February 27, 1953, the Walkertown Civic Club met with the Walkertown Community Council to discuss the need for a fundraising campaign to begin the process for establishing a community volunteer fire department. At that time, fire protection to the area was being supplied by City View, Mineral Springs, and the County fire truck 109. Attention was increased by fires that had occurred in other areas with no fire protection and locally by the Walkertown Chair Factory fire and the Loves Church fire in 1947. In March of 1953, a campaign goal of $15,000 was set with a goal of purchasing fire protection equipment. Support was also provided by the Forsyth County School Board in their interest in having a more formal system of fire protection for the 3-story Walkertown School Building on Main Street. Early fire protection for the school consisted of school staff and high school boys being trained in the use of large fire extinguishers stored in a building near the gym. Some of these individuals became members of the fire department.

On April 24, 1953, a public meeting was held at the Walkertown School, and the name Walkertown Volunteer Fire Department was adopted, and the initial fire district was set the same as the Walkertown School District. This covered much of northeast Forsyth County, bounded by the Belews Creek Road, Kernersville School District, the City View School District, and the Mineral Springs School District. In September 1953, a small tract of land in the central business area on Main Street was purchased for $1300.00 with plans to build a block building for fire trucks. In the meantime, a small metal building housed large fire extinguishers and other firefighting equipment for use by citizens to fight fires. On October 16, 1953, the group took delivery of a GMC truck with John Bean fire equipment mounted on the chassis as the first fire engine at a cost of $ 9,276.00. A group of men began training with the truck, assisted by members of neighboring fire departments who lived in the area. The group of men was led by the first Fire Chief Clyde Webster, who served in that position until 1978. Construction of the building to house the truck was completed in May of 1954, and the organizers approved the purchase of a Ford truck with a 1000 gallon tank of water. In 1955, the Walkertown Sanitary District was formed, and the boundaries extended approximately one mile from the fire station. The district was established to create a public water system supplied by large wells that feed an elevated tank behind the fire station. In that same year,r the organizers also named Clyde Webster as the Fire Chief of the Sanitary District. The Sanitary District purchased a 1961 fire engine with a 500-gallon-per-minute pump to be used by the firemen for fires in the “town”. In 1963, the Department purchased a Ford/Howe fire engine with an 800-gallon tank, and in 1971, a Ford fire engine was purchased with a 1000 gallon per minute pump. In 1975, a Ladies Auxiliary was formed, which provided major support and funding for the Department, that allowed the organization to grow to meet the demands of the growing community. The group also provides food and refreshments at emergencies and events. This group, along with the Firemen’s Fund operated by the Volunteer members, provided internal support and community support. In 1976, a Chevrolet Brush/Forestry truck was added to the fleet.

1976 also saw a major addition constructed, which added bay space, a large kitchen, and a meeting room. Mr. Gray Martin, who was a fire department member and employed by the Forsyth County Fire Department, pushed for a rescue squad service to be provided by the Department, so in November 1977, members met, organized, and took specialized training to provide formal rescue services. The first truck was a U.S. Civil Defense surplus 1963 International truck, and later a new 1979 rescue truck was purchased. The Walkertown Volunteer Fire Department continued to grow and operate as an independent organization and incorporated in 1976. The N.C. Department of Insurance established a formal Northeast Fire District of Forsyth County and assigned the district to Walkertown Volunteer Fire Department. In 1983, the Walkertown Fire Department helped to organize the Salem Chapel Fire Department, which became an independent district to serve the northern Highway 311 area of Forsyth County. The Town of Walkertown did not exist until a vote by the citizens in 1984 to incorporate the town, whereby the Walkertown Sanitary District became the Town of Walkertown on August 22nd. The Town contracted with the Walkertown Volunteer Fire Department for services and continues to do so today. Funding needs for the Fire Department continued to increase along with the demands for service. In 1985, the rural taxpayers of the Northeast Fire District voted to fund their Department with a Fire Tax. This solid form of funding helped to support the needs of the Department serving a rapidly growing area. In 2000, a large new modern fire station was constructed just north of the present station. In a speech at the dedication ceremonies, then Chief Denis Whicker stated that the new facility was not built just for today but to serve the growing needs of the next 50 years. The Department has been fortunate to have forward thinking leaders who are conservative but at the same time practical about the needs of the community.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Walkertown saw rapid growth in population, commercial construction, and highway construction. A much-needed ladder truck was added to the fleet as required to maintain the ISO Insurance Grade, especially for the commercial development of the Town. The Town of Walkertown had unprecedented petition annexations in the 1990’s that created a challenge for entities providing services to the Town. Neighboring Kernersville and Winston-Salem annexations also created service and funding challenges. This spurred much planning by fire service leaders. The historic boundaries of the Walkertown / Northeast Fire District, along with its neighboring fire departments and communities, began to blur as development crossed all lines. Planning began in 1992 and rapidly formalized in 2019, which resulted in the reorganization of the Walkertown Volunteer Fire Department. The Taxpayers voted on a merger plan with neighboring City View and Talley’s Crossing to become the new Walkertown Fire Department, Inc. on January 1, 2020.

In the late 1940’s our developing rural communities saw the perils of fire with the loss of many houses, businesses, and churches, including Crews Church in 1946. The people of Crews Church, City View Baptist Church (Edgewood), City View Men’s Club, and City View School (Petree) met and organized the fire department in 1949. It was one of the first rural fire departments in Forsyth County and covered eastern Forsyth County and assisted Winston-Salem, Kernersville, High Point, Mocksville, and helped other communities establish their local volunteer fire departments. The early equipment was housed at a gas station owned by Bud Sink near present-day Old Greensboro Road and Highway 158. In 1952, the department was incorporated as required for rating, and construction began on a fire station at what was then the intersection of the new Highway 421 and N.C. 65 “New Belews Creek Road,” which today is known as Old Greensboro Road and Highway 158. During construction, by the members, an early-season hurricane spawned heavy rains and winds that collapsed the partially completed basement walls, and construction had to start over. The finished building had a basement, main floor with 2 bays and a community meeting room, and an unfinished second floor. A fire siren was set atop a 50-foot rooftop pole that could be heard from miles away.

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Dispatch was handled by calling the Winston-Salem Police Department in the basement of City Hall. The police dispatcher would call a City View Firemen’s home, which would initiate a phone tree call system among members, or the person needing help could call a Firemen’s home directly. The first fireman to get the call would respond to the Station to activate the rooftop fire siren and write the address on a chalkboard; other firemen would respond to the scene or to the station to get additional apparatus. The first apparatus would throw a small bag of lime or flour out the truck window at each intersection to help guide other responders. Each fireman also carried fire extinguishers, rakes, buckets, tarps, and first aid equipment in their personal vehicles. This was a common practice for all other rural fire departments at that time, and each had their own method of dispatch. Most of the early fire trucks were built by the membership using military chassis or used truck chassis.

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City View was strict on training and met every Tuesday evening. Much time was also spent on fundraisers, and each fireman had to donate 25 cents, 50 cents, a dollar or so when the hat was passed around at weekly training sessions. The Ladies Auxiliary helped with fundraising, and a door-to-door donation drive was held annually in the fall, with envelopes being hung on all doors the first Saturday and then picked up on the second Saturday.

In the 1960’s the firehouse was remodeled, and the 2 nd floor was finished with firemen’s quarters; a new kitchen was built on the main floor, and a bay was added in the basement. The 1970’s brought on formal NFPA training and equipment requirements that the department adopted. City View challenged the N.C. Department of Insurance grading system that assigned rural fire departments a standard 9 ISO grade – the result was an ISO Grade 6, which was a first for an all-volunteer fire department in NC. The 1970’s also saw major annexations by Winston-Salem, which required contracts for service with City View to cover the expanded areas. At the time, the original City View Fire District western boundaries were around Winston-Salem State University, Reynolds Park Road, East 5 th Street, and New Walkertown Road. Demands increased, and donations fell off as new populations coming into the area were not accustomed to VFD funding methods and did not donate, so the burden fell on a small percentage of the early citizens. In 1982, those same citizens elected to set up a Fire Tax District to fund the department.

In 1984, bay additions and modern bathrooms were added to accommodate required equipment and quarters for members. Again in 1987, annexations, highway plans, and population growth spurred the fire department to do formal future planning. The long-range plans involved fire station relocations, merging of systems and organizations, and more cooperation across the board. In 1987, City View established a live-in resident program that provided housing for single individuals in turn for staffing and maintenance duties.

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After much planning, a new fire station was constructed at 4664 Old Belews Creek Road in 1990, and Winston-Salem began planning for a new fire station near Linville Road. The site was selected based upon NFPA modelling, highway plans, plans of other organizations, and apparatus requirements. In 1995, the department started a “Dayshift” program, which hires part-time members to staff the station during the daytime hours, as the loss of manufacturing jobs in our area did away with many evening and night shift jobs, thus greatly reducing the availability of daytime volunteer manpower. In 1998, the Talley’s Crossing Fire Department was merged into the City View Fire Department. In 1999, City View celebrated its 50 th year of service with activities involving many of its founding members.

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In the early 2000’s, City View and Talley’s personnel worked to improve equipment, staffing, and response times. The N.C. Department of Insurance issued an improved ISO Grade 4 for all areas of the district with and without fire hydrants. This moved much of the old Talley’s Fire District from a Grade 9 to an improved Grade 4, thus providing a savings to citizens in insurance premiums. The 2000s also involved more formal countywide future planning studies. In January 2020, after intense final planning with a process that started in 1992, the City View Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. became part of the new Walkertown Fire Department, Inc.

The Talley’s Crossing Volunteer Fire Department was organized soon after the spring of 1954 as a result of a large brush fire that threatened many structures. The fire was fought by neighbors and units from the City View and Walkertown Fire Departments. The Community saw the need for their own fire department and worked closely with City View and Forsyth County personnel to organize the new department. A tract of land was purchased from Mrs. Nannie Harrell near the intersection of U.S. Highway 421 and N.C. 66, which is now known as West Mountain Street and Hopkins Road.

In 1954, the Talley’s Crossing area was a busy crossroads with gas stations, stores, markets, and other businesses on the original route of U.S. Highway 421, which was prior to the construction of I-40. The community also had a train station and the first TV station in northwest North Carolina being WSJS TV Channel 12 (WXII). The broadcast building and tower were located near Pisgah Methodist Church. The tower was removed when East Forsyth Middle School was constructed.

Construction on the original fire department building began in 1955 and consisted of a 30 foot by 40 foot 2 story block building that had 2 apparatus bays on the first floor and a meeting hall on the second floor. The members of the community and firefighters provided the labor, and lumber was donated “on the stump” by local landowners. In 1955, a contract was drawn for the first fire engine, which was an 800-gallon pumper on a GMC 2-ton chassis. In 1957, the department added a 1945 surplus military tanker that carried 1200 gallon of water. The department also organized a traffic control division to help with traffic at emergencies and civic events. Traffic was a major issue as N.C. 66 and U.S. 421 were the only major routes in eastern Forsyth County.

The Talley’s fire district had a large area that ran from Hastings Hill Road, wrapped around the small town of Kernersville, to the Guilford County Line, bounded by the City View, Walkertown, and Beesons Cross Roads Fire Departments. Talley’s was a major source of assistance to the Kernersville Fire Department. In 1957, the members dug a well on the south side of the station, and a one-story addition was constructed that contained a kitchen, meeting room, and bathrooms. The members also constructed a large barbecue pit and shelter that was used by the Ladies Auxiliary and members to cook and sell barbecue, which was the major fundraiser for the department. The Ladies Auxiliary also cooked chicken pies, held auctions, and other fundraiser events to support the fire department. The members also used the pit to cook meals and fund many other needs in the community. In 1963, Talley’s purchased a Ford chassis with a 1000 gallon tank to replace the 1945 military tanker. In 1978, the Department obtained a surplus military jeep, which they converted to a brush truck to fight off-road fires and woodland fires.

The rapidly growing communities surrounding Kernersville put additional demands on the fire department that exceeded revenue from fundraisers, so the citizens signed a petition to form a Fire Tax District in 1984. The vote was overwhelmingly approved by the property owners.

The new revenue allowed Talley’s to purchase much-needed equipment and personal protective wear for the firefighters. In 1987, a one-story addition was constructed to house additional fire engines required to maintain and improve the ISO Insurance grade for the fire district. Kernersville began annexing residential areas of Hopkins Road and West Mountain Street in 1988 and contracted with Talley’s to provide fire protection. The contract helped to fund some paid firefighters and provide funding to cover some part-time pay for the fire chief and an administrative assistant to help meet the time-consuming demands of the rapidly urbanizing area. Talley’s Crossing was the first volunteer fire department in Forsyth County to begin paying firefighters to work a formal shift to handle the increased call volume and to make up for the decline in volunteers. The 1980s and 1990s brought many updates to the fleet and updates to the building to handle live-in firefighters. Talley’s members put a lot of value on training in order to carry out safe operations and meet new NFPA Standards.

Forsyth County population growth, highway plans, and commercial growth prompted fire service leaders and local government to study present and future needs. Plans were developed to handle the growth, construct fire stations, remap fire districts, and merge organizations serving these common growth areas. In 1998, the Town of Kernersville conducted major annexations which eliminated over 50% of the Talley’s Crossing fire tax revenue. However, the demands for service did not reduce. This was a common issue for rural fire departments located near cities and towns and one that was included in future plans. In 1998, Talley’s Crossing merged with the City View Volunteer Fire Department and continued to operate the Hopkins Road station until such time as various elements of the future plans were accomplished. In 2013, Forsyth County remapped all fire districts, and the N.C. Department of Transportation began planning for improvements to Hopkins Road. Future planning continued, which included winding down operations at the Hopkins Road location. In 2020, City View, Talley’s, and Walkertown Volunteer Fire Departments became Walkertown Fire Department, Inc. The group continued to work to improve staffing, equipment, and response times. As a result, the remaining Talley’s Fire District improved from ISO grade 4 to a grade 3. In 2021, the N.C. Department of Transportation finalized the Hopkins Road plan and purchased the right-of-way, which was the last step in discontinuing service from the Hopkins Road location. Talley’s personnel continue to respond to calls and serve the community, but now as members of the new Walkertown Fire Department.