About Us

The Parrottsville Volunteer Fire Department serves the Parrottsville community in Cocke County, Tennessee, as an important part of the area’s emergency-response system. The department is a volunteer, nonprofit fire organization and is part of Cocke County’s network of volunteer fire departments. The department responds to structure fires, wildland fires, motor vehicle accidents, rescues, first responds to medical alarms, and other emergencies alongside neighboring volunteer departments. Today, the department continues to provide fire protection and emergency assistance to the Parrottsville area as well as Cocke and surrounding counties from the main station on Old Parrottsville Highway.

History of Parrottsville Volunteer Fire Department

Berlin Basinger is credited with organizing the department in 1964 and served as the first fire chief. All calls for assistance came either to Basinger’s home or to Blazer’s Service Station in Parrottsville where Basinger worked for 18 years.

In looking through scrapbooks from those days, the following names appear as either charter or very early members of the department: Berlin Basinger, Billy Park, Max Johnson, Harrison Helton, L.B. Trentham, L.J. Sane, Herbert Sane, Fred Hixon, Max Coakley, George Blazer, Charles Cureton, Ed Ragan, James Neas, Roy Smith, Sam Easterly, Joe Dawson, Liston Davis, Charlie Barger, Jack Wisecarver, Jack Parks, and Rex Ellenburg.

The group expanded their services to offer ambulance service in 1967 that ran until June 24, 2008. In 1972, the Cocke County Quarterly Court approved funds to purchase a new ambulance, and the department raised the $1,200 needed for its emergency equipment. A 1963 red Pontiac station wagon was their ambulance. The department first operated out of a building on Charlie Barger’s property. Today the property is known as the “Third Station", we currently rent the building from the Town of Parrottsville which was the "old Community Center" on Parrots Circle. In 1973, the ambulance service was licensed by the State Department of Public Health, and Chief Basinger and other members completed 81 hours of training to qualify them as emergency medical technicians.

The fire department and ambulance service operated strictly on donations. No payment was required from the people they served. Basinger’s sudden death on February 9, 1974, at age 49, stunned and saddened the community, but the volunteer organization was well established. Recognizing the department’s constant need of funds, community members came up with the idea of a fire supper. The first supper was held in the old Parrottsville School in 1966, the event raises funds for the department. Mae Smith, Aileen Cureton, Aileen Barger, and Ann Sane are credited as being among the first supper’s organizers. Today’s menu is the same as that adopted half a century ago, which is "chicken or ham, green beans or baked beans, corn, mashed potatoes, slaw, homemade rolls, and dessert". They adopted the last Saturday in July as the supper’s date, a decision that remains in effect today. Community churches cooperated by not planning any supper or event that night that would draw anyone away from the fire department’s fundraiser. The success of the first supper quickly influenced several families with Parrottsville roots to arrange their yearly vacations to coincide with the supper. The supper’s success peaked in the 1980s, when upwards of 2,500 people were served. As always, proceeds from the event will help fund the department’s needs for the coming year.

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