Welcome to our site

The city of Betsy Layne is located in Floyd county in eastern Kentucky between Pikeville and Prestonsburg.  Our six-apparatus, twenty-four firefighter station is located alongside U.S. Highway 23 only a few miles north of the Pike/Floyd county line.

Proudly serving a population that well exceeds 7,500 citizens, the Betsy Layne Volunteer Fire Department was originally formed in 1947 as part of the old Betsy Layne Men's Club under the group leadership of the late Earl Hays.  Several years later, we were incorporated into the Betsy Layne Fire Protection District.  For more details about the history of the organization, refer to the "About Us" feature on the left column. 

Today, under KRS Chapter 75, the dept. is governed by a seven-member panel of the board of trustees who work "behind the scenes" to see that both all financial obligations are met and that any necessary, major goals the firefighters have can be accomplished. 

On the firefighting side of things, twenty dedicated and motivated firefighters work under the current leadership of our four line officers (Chief, Asst. Chief, Captain, and Lieutenant) striving to provide prompt and efficient emergency assistance with fire suppression, motor vehicle accident response, vehicle extrication, traffic control, and weather-related emergencies as the department responds to an average of 110 emergency calls per year. 

Year-round classes for area citizens and groups (both young and old alike) are offered by our Public Affairs Officer as he sometimes relies on the assistance of our own "Freddie the Firetruck". 

Of our current roster (which includes 3 explorer members), 19 of the firefighters have acquired all necessary training to be considered as certified through the State Fire Commission with eleven being Level II and eight others being Level I. 

Firefighter training drills occur regularly each Thursday evening and Explorer classes are mostly held on Mondays.  Additional training is also provided by the department's instructors on different occasions throughout the year and the firefighters also receive training through state-certified instructors, at neighboring departments, and at scheduled fire schools.  Active firefighters with our department will average approximately 90 training hours each year. 

Sit back and enjoy your stay with us and thanks for taking an opportunity to visit our site.  Be sure to stop back in from time to time as our website is updated almost daily.  Take a closer look at each of our six trucks in the "Apparatus" feature.  For those of you who may recall certain past events or incidents involving the dept. or remember one of our past firefighters, step back in time by viewing the photos in the "Pictures" feature.  

Also, if you want to know some background about our board members, line officers, or firefighters, individual pictured biofiles of each of them have been provided for you in the "Members" feature as you can become more familiar with those who serve their community in today's Betsy Layne Fire Protection District.  

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May 2009 picnic

On Sunday, May 17th, the annual fire department picnic was held at the fire station.  Unlike most other occasions throughout the year, the firefighters had an opportunity to take some time away from the emergency side of things and spend some quality time with their friends and families in this bond of brotherhood.

By all accounts, 58 people attended the event including 15 of our firefighters.  Live musical entertainment was provided by the gospel rock group "Sons of Thunder" from West Virginia.

Other distinguished guests present for today's gathering included Board Member Tom Hardwick and his wife, Board Member Ronnie Leedy, and Fire Dept. Chaplain Reverend Doug Lewis and his wife.  Thanks goes to all who prepared the food or come down to spend some time with the firemen. 

Keep in mind that the firemen love hearing from the public and especially our local citizens who we protect every day.  Maybe you thought of us today or drove by the station and, for whatever reason, was unable to attend but let us know what you think.  We don't get a salary for what we do however we all love to hear a few kind words to let us know how much we mean to our community.  To a volunteer, all the money in the world is sometimes not worth a few kind words from the public.  With that being said, take a few moments to drop us a note in the "Guestbook" feature over on the left column.  IT'S EASY!!!! 

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Chief Clark and his firefighters bid farewell to an old friend

All good things must come to an end and that would be no different for Chief Eddie Clark and his firefighters on February 9th, 2009, as they said their goodbyes to an old comrade.

Already having a red 1953 GMC fire truck which the firemen strived to use to the best of its limited ability, several lengthy discussions led to reality when, on October 25th, 1973, the Betsy Layne Fire Dept. (and now-defunct Betsy Layne Men's Club) were able to purchase the cab and chassis of a 1974 GMC from Wells Motor Co. of Pikeville.  At a cost of $5,848.00, Engine 1 would become the first new fire truck that our dept. was fortunate enough to be able to purchase years before our current tax-collection district was established. 

Delivered to us the very next day, the cab and chassis were red as with most fire trucks in big cities however the guys decided to go about our color scheme in another way therefore, it was decided that the new fire truck would be painted lime green.  This decision would start a trend which is still popular even today to the Betsy Layne Fire Protection District and our fleet of six apparatus.

The late Jim George delivered the truck to W.S. Darley Company in Illinois on November 19th, 1973, where the side-mount pump panel was installed.  Soon afterwards, the truck was returned to our department and put into service making its first call for us later that year.

To borrow a quote from Chief Clark, he and several other firefighters "cut their teeth" on the new truck as its modernized design and equipment led to firefighting improvements in which the firemen could better serve area citizens.  Eddie, who had been a firefighter only two years to the day when the truck was purchased, could tell several stories about responding to fires in it, how he learned so much in driving and training thanks to the new truck, and how it improved our department in so many ways often referring to it as his favorite.  Over the next several years, both he and all firemen who served with us benefited in one way or another from E1 and it seemed like losing a part of our family when it left the station for the final time.  Many can give stories of those below-freezing nights or scorching-hot days all the while the dependable E1 was there by their sides.

How many times have we heard Chief say "guys, keep that truck clean and in running order at all times" or "guys, be sure to clean the water from the inside of the back tire rims so it won't cause rust" all the while knowing how it was to not have much at the department and striving to continuously preach pride to his men all the while looking to reach that next goal.  Fond memories of the truck will always be with us and, if only Engine 1 could have talked, there's certainly a lot more it would share. 

Engine 1 made its last fire call for our dept. when it responded to a structure fire at Ivel on November 9th, 2008.  For over 34 years, the truck served both the Betsy Layne and sometimes surrounding communities with the best of its ability.  Current Asst. Chief Edward Clark, Captain Tommy Kidd and Firefighter Lonnie Ray Allen also served with our department before the luxury of having any other of our Pierce pumpers so they can fully understand just what the truck meant to us and how many times they have depended solely on it to help fight their fires. 

The fire truck was replaced with a newer version which was also named Engine 1 (see Apparatus Gallery).  The firemen spent numerous hours getting the necessary equipment installed and in order for the 2008 Pierce/International Pumper.  It was later put into service and has already served on a few of our calls.  

Deservedly so, Chief Clark and his grandson, Steven, delivered the old truck to Tolers Creek Fire Dept. on February 9th.  It must have rekindled memories of days of long ago when Eddie and his young son, Edward, would proudly respond to calls in that shiny, new 1974 fire engine.