On Saturday, the Elite Fleet will host a 50^th anniversary celebration at its fire station located on Highway 158.

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“Some of the guys came up with that in the late 80s or early 90s” said Chief David Padgett, referring to the moniker. “We wanted to be as good as we could be. We got tanker 21 in 1989. That was the first to have that. It looked like something you would see in New York City. We were the first to have bigger trucks. What we had in the past were smaller trucks. In 1971 we placed an order for an American LaFrance.”

Padgett has been with the fire department for 44 years, before there was a taxing district and firefighters spent most of their time raising funds to stay afloat.

The tax district, established in 1977, Padgett said, “Was like day and night. We spent a great amount of time fund-raising. I can remember when we auctioned off a six-pack of Cokes.”

Davie, along with Rheasville, which will celebrate its 50^th anniversary in June, was born out of a need to battle fires outside the Roanoke Rapids city limits.

“The early structure fires in this area, you pretty much wrote off,” Padgett said. “People got together from Davie and Rheasville and wanted a fire department.”

Davie was established on March 1, 1966. Rheasville and Davie split into separate fire departments, Padgett said.

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The first trucks were a 1948 Ford and a 1956 GMC.

Since that time, when the trucks were originally stored in a shed, the department has grown to have four engines, two tankers, two brush trucks, a mini-pumper, an equipment and extrication vehicle and even a vehicle for the chief, all kept at its station at 3155 Highway 158.

The department is also in the process of refurbishing the old Thelma fire station on Thelma Road to use as a substation.

To be in the Davie Volunteer Fire Department, said firefighter Kevin Manning, is to be in an organization which embraces the brotherhood of firefighters as well as the family members of the volunteers. “This is one to include our families as much as possible and to show appreciation for the sacrifices their families have made.”

“Through the years,” said firefighter Michael Kidd, “It's been about the brotherhood, the camaraderie and family.”

Jason Patrick, a paid officer within the Roanoke Rapids Fire Department, is also a volunteer with Davie and cut his teeth with the organization, his father a member and his grandfather a charter member.

He remembers as a child playing with the guys at the station and even sitting in on some of their training classes. “I grew up around it,” he said. “It got me in fire service.”

The biggest change within the Elite Fleet in its infancy and the grownup organization, Padgett said, is a shift in focus. While the department still does fundraisers, the biggest part of being a volunteer is the training involved, Padgett said.

On Saturday, the chief wants people to come out and “see what we do. Maybe someone will stop by and join us.”

For Padgett, joining the Elite Fleet at 18 was something he never envisioned would become a 44-year adventure. “It's the love of the fire department. It's like a brotherhood to me. When I got in I never thought this would be something I'd be doing for as long as I've been doing.”