History

The History of Kensington Fire Rescue:

The Kensington Volunteer Fire Department was founded on October 13, 1938, and has a long history of service to the Town of Berlin. On that date, a group of citizens met at the Italian Independent Political Club and formulated a plan to institute a volunteer fire department in Kensington.

Before that time, the East Berlin Volunteer Fire Department was the only organized fire protection within the town. Prior to the organization of these departments, the town has a contract with the New Britain Fire Department to respond to fire emergencies.

The members of the newly formed Kensington Volunteer Fire Department solicited donations for funds to purchase equipment. A hearse was converted to become the department’s first fire truck, and it was placed into service in April 1939. The first fire truck was stored in a barn which became the department’s first fire station.

Throughout history, the KVFD has expanded and grown into its current location at 880 Farmington Avenue, Kensington. The fire station is a two-story, six bay building which houses the apparatus, equipment, training/meeting room, and social area. Currently, the department serves an area of 26 square miles in conjunction with three other volunteer fire companies. The KVFD operates with two fire engine pumpers, an aerial ladder truck, and a multi-purpose Chevy Suburban. The department now has some of the best and state-of-the-art equipment and training available today, and is still staffed completely by volunteers. The department’s thirty members are trained and equipped to respond to all types of fire and rescue emergencies.

Today we have begun to use the name Kensington Fire Rescue, mainly to indicate our increased role in responding to and dealing with not only fire emergencies, but all types of rescue emergencies as well.