History

In 1950, the Gore Volunteer Fire Company was formed in the western part of Frederick County after a fire burned a store and the post office building. The department received its charter in 1952.  Since the company had no building when it was first organized, the members stored the fire truck in the garage of the fire chief, James Lawyer. Sometime later, a small building was obtained off of Gore Road and served as the home for first two vehicles, as well as a meeting place and facility to aid in fund raising projects. 

The needs of the Fire Company greatly exceeded this small building. In 1978, construction of a new building along Northwestern Pike began. The facility was completed in 1979 with 3 bays, a large kitchen and a dining hall. An additional truck bay was added in 1984. The department ran first responder-assistant to other EMS transporting agencies until 2000, when the station added ambulances to its fleet.  In 2009 a renovation project added 3 more truck bays, a meeting/training room, new bathrooms and an outside face lift to the station. Gore Volunteer Fire & Rescue serves approximately 100 square miles in the western tip of Frederick County.

Today, the department is staffed by volunteers 24-hours, 7 days a week, and has two career personnel on duty during daytime hours (6:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.) Monday through Friday.  The station's apparatus includes:

• 2 ALS (Advanced Life Suport) ambulances
• 1 Fire Engine
• 1 Attack mini-pumper
• 1 Brush mini-pumper for woods/ grass fires

On February 13, 2012, the department's Tanker was involved in an accident that resulted in the death of Firefighter Zachary Whitacre. His death was the County's first Line of Duty Death.