Hiwassee Dam Volunteer Fire Department (HDVFD) is a rural, all-volunteer department located in Cherokee County, North Carolina that provides fire protection and emergency response to a 47 square mile district (see navigation menu for district map).

The HDVFD incorporated on 19 July 1988 as a North Carolina nonprofit organization and contracted with the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners to serve the Hiwassee Dam Fire Protection District established by district voters under provisions of North Carolina General Statutes §69-25.  Accordingly, Hiwassee Dam Fire Protection District property owners are charged an annual fire district tax as determined by the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, and this tax revenue is passed on to the HDVFD monthly in order to fund on-going operations.  HDVFD also provides mutual aid to adjacent fire departments and contract fire protection services to the Tennessee Valley Authority's Hiwassee Dam hydroelectric complex.

With a roster of 46 volunteer firefighters, HDVFD owns and maintains two station facilities that house a total of seven emergency apparatus including two Class A engines, two water tankers, a foam pump engine, and two medical response vehicles.

In 2008, HDVFD responded to 231 emergency calls dispatched via Cherokee County's 911 Call Center (a 24% increase from 2007). Of these, 6 were structure fires, 113 were First Responder calls for medical assistance, and the remainder were automobile accidents, brush fires, mutual aid to other districts, and various other emergency incidents.

This page last modified on Wednesday, March 11, 2009