One of the busiest volunteer fire departments in Prince William County is about to change its name.
The Stonewall Jackson Volunteer Fire Department near Manassas is campaigning for a quarter of a million dollars to change the department’s name. This is how much it costs to change the name on everything from legal documents to the stickers on the fire trucks.
It represents a quarter of the total annual budget of the volunteer organization, a private entity that contracts with the county to provide fire and rescue services in the Manassas area. Hat in hand, the department reached out to the Board of County Supervisors to find the name change funds.
Once the volunteer company decides what to call itself, the name change process begins shortly thereafter.
“It’s the right thing,” Nick Kelly, the division manager, told PLN.
After the unrest in the United States caused by George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, members of the department overwhelmingly voted to change the name last August.
Members of the department discussed changing the name following a deadly mob scene in Charlottesville in 2017, but took no action. The recent name changes of Stonewall Jackson High and Middle Schools prompted a name change for the fire department, Kelly said.
“We all understand the history of the department, but our name doesn’t define us,” he added.
No new names are currently being considered. As more members of the department’s leadership team are vaccinated against the coronavirus, face-to-face meetings are planned to determine a new name.
Contrary to the county school department’s decision to rename their buildings after people, Kelly said the fire department would not be renamed for one person.
The Stonewall Jackson Volunteer Fire Department makes more than 5,000 calls annually, making it one of the busiest departments in Prince William County. The division dates back to 1971 and its logo features the image of Stonewall Jackson as depicted in a statue in Manassas National Battlefield Park that was erected in the 1940s.