09/01/2026
**From Chief Orsi**
The Fort Bragg Fire Department is well known within our community. Many have seen the large engines responding through town. Some have had to call on the department for help, being a fire, a medical emergency, a traffic accident, a rescue or any number of incidents that prompt the call to 911. As Fire Chief, I thought I would give our community some background on who we are and what we do. I will share this and other write-ups to follow in the hopes of everyone in Fort Bragg getting a better picture of the FORT BRAGG FIRE DEPARTMENT
Fort Bragg Fire Department has served the community since 1891. Back in the early days, the need of fire protection was a top priority after devastating fires burned our downtown area to the ground. As a result, the Fort Bragg Hook and Ladder company was formed, using local volunteers to provide this needed service. They didn’t have much back then, hand drawn carts carrying hose from water storage areas to fire scenes. Dedicated volunteers working hard to not only get equipment to the fire but then using that equipment to contain and extinguish it. It’s hard to imagine the physical toll it took on them. With that in mind, looking at the entire lifestyle of those early responders will show just how tough they were. They were working in the woods, laboring in the mill sites, fishing for long hours or rebuilding our town. The response to fires, as taxing as it was, didn’t compare to the long workdays they put in. These pioneers of the fire service were indeed heroes. The pride that they had in their newly formed unit was shared by many. The firefighters themselves, their families and their community who worked hard to support them.
Here we are, 135 years later. Our equipment is top notch, engines that those early responders couldn’t imagine in their wildest dreams. Still responding with dedicated volunteer firefighters, who take enormous pride in their role as the ones their community calls for when disasters happen. The volunteers at the FBFD look back with total respect to all of the firefighters who have continued to make their department what it is today. There are differences in the services provided. The Hook and Ladder company was there for every fire, the current fire department responds to any number of emergencies, big and small. Responding to an average of 700 calls a year, these volunteers are always on the run. Add to the calls, weekly training sessions and meetings one has to wonder why they do it. As Chief, I can rationalize the reason by comparing them to the early pioneers, in that they see a community need, they know someone has to step up and fill that need, so they rise up and do what it takes to answer the calls as they come in.
In the matter of calls coming in, there is no set time for emergencies. Volunteers could be working in the yard on a day off of their regular (paying) job, sitting down for a family dinner, attending a sporting event or being fast asleep in the middle of the night. When their pagers go off, the dedicated volunteers respond. Even in the worse times, a violent rainstorm with strong winds, when everyone wants to stay indoors, dry and warm, these volunteers are out there in the weather doing whatever they can to ensure the community’s safety. I am extremely proud to be their Chief and to be a part of the history that is the FBFD!
