Joyful Crowd Celebrates New Fire Station #8

Marguarite Gooden (left), who has family ties to Fire Station #8, and Peggy Carter-Jones, treasurer of the John M. Langston Citizens Assn., put up displays about the firefighters and history of Fire Station #8.

Several hundred people gathered on April 26 for the dedication of Fire Station #8 on Langston Blvd. But it was more than just celebrating a new $28 million fire station. For many decades, the firefighters of Station #8 have demonstrated service, withstood adversity, and built community.

Clayton Powell, former ACFD member, catches up with Edith Gravely, former LBA Board member, at the April 26, 2025 dedication of Fire Station #8.

It all started with the Halls Hill Volunteer Fire Department, founded in 1918 to serve the segregated Halls Hill community because white fire departments would not come to the neighborhood. Then in 1934, a firehouse was constructed near the intersection of N. Culpeper Street and Lee Hwy., now Langston Blvd., and continued to serve Halls Hill. Fire Station #8 also provided a community hub, a place for Scouts to meet in the basement, even a place to get ration books during World War II.

Despite having to contend with hand-me-down equipment, underfunding and other discrimination up through the Jim Crow era, the firemen persevered, supported by their tight-knit Halls Hill community. By the end of the 1950s, the number of paid Black firemen at the station reached a total of 14. In 1963, a new facility was built, serving the community until 2022 when it was torn down.

Today the Station #8 firefighters, all paid professionals, serve Arlingtonians from the new state-of-the-art firehouse.