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History of Wren Volunteer Fire Department
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In The Beginning...

The Wren Fire Department was established in 1978 as the first rural fire department in Monroe County. At that time the department received a pumper truck from the county. The county made no provisions to the department and provided no money to house or operate the vehicle. The department began fund-raising projects immediately to operate the vehicle and found a community resident to donate the use of a barn to house the truck. After many fund-raisers, and with some members of the board of directors signing personal loans for the department, a 40’ x 40’ building to house the truck was built in 1982. Later the fire department purchased a 1962 Chevrolet truck chassis and a 1000-gallon Army surplus water tank for the first tanker.

In 1991 the county began dividing part of its insurance rebates among the county fire departments, giving WVFD per year. This allowed the fire department to then start using some of the fund-raising money it received to upgrade and purchase more equipment with the long-range plan of being able to reduce the insurance rates for the community by achieving a lower fire protection class. That was accomplished in 2001 when the Wren Fire Dept became the first rural department in Monroe County to receive a Class-Nine fire rating and furthered in 2003 with a Class-Eight rating.

Narrative

The Wren Volunteer Fire Department is an all-volunteer rural fire department in Northeast Mississippi. The area served by the department covers approximately 85 square miles (54,000 acres) and is located approximately 10 miles north of Aberdeen in the northwest corner of Monroe County. The department also provides mutual aid to 5 adjoining fire departments (Cedar Creek, Nettleton, Okolona, Aberdeen, Amory).

The rural make-up includes approximately 1200 homes with about 3000 people living there. The community is approximately 46% minority, with 19% of the population over 60 years of age and 28% of the population considered as low-income or poverty level. (This information is based on census information available and fire department surveys).
The Fire Department’s area of responsibility contains approximately 65 miles of county roads, and 22 miles of U.S highways including 14 miles of divided 4-lane U.S Highway 45 and 45A. Traffic on these 3 highways averages 12,500 vehicles per day.

Today
Wren has one of the best equipped rural fire departments in the state. The county furnishes the Wren Fire Dept with 2 pumper trucks and 2 auxiliary fire dept buildings on Union Grove Road and McAlister Road. The fire department has purchased, built, and equipped an additional pumper, 2 tanker trucks capable of carrying a combined 7700 gallons of water, a 4-wheel drive 1st-responder vehicle for brush and grass fires that carried 310 gallons of water, and a 10-wheel drive wildlands firefighter that carries 1000 gallons of water and gives the firemen the capability of fighting grass and brush fires from the drivers seat. The fire department has also put into service a rescue vehicle containing jaws-of-life and lifting equipment, rescue saws, an emergency generator and scene lighting equipment, a cascade system for re-supplying firefighter's air supply system (SCBA), medical supplies, and firefighter safety equipment. Most of vehicles are housed in a fire department owned building on Hwy 45 that serves as the main station. This 7000 square foot building also serves as a training facility, and houses the Wren Public Library, Wren Water District Office, and a community center.