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ALEXANDRIA, Va. - In 1774 — two years before American independence — a group of Alexandrians organized the city's first volunteer fire company. They called it Friendship.
Two hundred and fifty-two years later, the organization that grew from that company will close the 100 block of South Alfred Street on Saturday, Aug. 1, for the annual Friendship Firehouse Festival, a free event celebrating Alexandria's firefighting heritage in front of the historic firehouse that has anchored that block since 1855.
The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Alexandria fire trucks and emergency vehicles will be on display, and children can climb aboard and meet members of the city's public safety teams. Free toy fire helmets will be distributed while supplies last. Water play, fire-hose activities, coloring and hands-on artifact activities are also planned.
Local artisans, small businesses and community organizations will line the street with vendor booths. Live music will perform throughout the morning. Food, coffee and cold treats will be available for purchase. The Alexandria Police Department and Sheriff's Office will have booths on site.
Admission to the Friendship Firehouse Museum at 107 S. Alfred St. is free during festival hours. The museum houses the Rodgers Suction Engine (1851) and the Prettyman Hose Carriage (1858), a midnight-blue apparatus made by local craftsman Robert F. Prettyman, decorated with gilded shields, red and gold wheels and a brass lantern.
The firehouse's history reflects the broader community it served. When the building opened in 1855, construction was funded in part through a fundraising fair organized by Alexandria women. The Alexandria Gazette reported at the time that preparations were underway "by several ladies and their friends for holding a Fair for the purpose of raising funds for building an Engine House for the Friendship Fire Company."
A September 1810 entry in the company's Minute Book records funds being set aside to compensate African American men "who aided and appointed in working the Engine during the fire which took place on the night of the 24th," documenting a community effort that extended beyond the company's formal white male membership.
By the mid-19th century, Alexandria had five volunteer fire companies: Friendship, Sun, Relief, Star and Hydraulion. As a paid city fire department was established, the Friendship Fire Company transitioned away from active firefighting and into a veterans' organization. It no longer responds to calls. Today, the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association operates as a philanthropic and historic preservation organization and presents the annual festival in partnership with the Office of Historic Alexandria.
The festival is free and open to all. Free parking is available at The Lyceum, 201 S. Washington St., two blocks away.
