About Us

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The Marlow Volunteer Fire Department was organized in 1979 and began answering an average of 80 calls per year with a 500 gallon, 500 GPM 1953 Howe pumper that was purchased with a loan co-signed by the founding members.  

During the past four decades, we have been blessed with the generous support of Anderson County, through volunteers, cash donations, merchant contributions, as well as Federal and State grants, allowing us to answer emergency calls with improved equipment and efficiency.  

At present, our volunteers operate out of two stations, one located in the Marlow community and one in the Donovan community, serving approximately 10,000 Anderson County residents in 3,800 structures spread over an area of 65 square miles.  

We continue to update our fleet of trucks, which currently includes two pumpers, two pumper/tankers, a brush/rescue truck, a command vehicle, and a first response vehicle. Our pumper/tanker trucks carry two portable dump tanks to support water shuttle/drafting operations, since hydrants are limited in the rural sections of our county.  

Through continued equipment upgrades and twice-monthly training meetings, the department has earned a Class 5/10 rating from the Insurance Services Office. The Class 5 rating applies to properties within five road miles of either station while the Class 10 rating applies to properties over five miles away. This rating is an objective, independent evaluation of the department's capabilities and saves homeowners, churches, and businesses in our service area a tremendous amount of money in reduced property insurance premiums per year.  

Our department has mutual aid agreements with area emergency organizations and answers calls for assistance from emergency agencies in the county, as well as outlying volunteer fire departments. With mutual aid responses and an increasing population in Anderson County, our emergency calls now number in excess of 600 per year.  

Marlow Volunteer Fire Department is an independent, non-profit corporation that is run strictly by its volunteer membership. No member receives any direct or indirect compensation for services. Presently, approximately 25 men and women give of their time and experience to perform firefighting, training, fundraising, maintenance, and administrative tasks. New members are always welcome, and needed, to volunteer in any or all of these areas.