In 1957, Dwight B. Callaway, Charles N. Clark, and W.A. Sigmon felt that the local citizens deserved their own fire department, so they filed a set of Articles of Incorporations with the North Carolina Secretary of State giving birth to the Denver Volunteer Fire Department. Throughout the years, the all-volunteer fire department has grown into one of the largest non-profit combination fire departments in the state of North Carolina. With the foresight of the above citizens, along with the growing fire department management staff and the board of directors, the fire department has grown significantly to fit the needs of the community we protect. With the fire department being established in 1957, the largest growth mechanism is Lake Norman. In 1963, Duke Power, Inc. flooded the lake to supply water to one of their nuclear power plants located on NC Highway 73. Lake Norman has almost 520 miles of shoreline, with our fire department protecting 36 miles of it. In 1957, most of the homes in the community were 1,500 to 2,000 square feet, but today with Lake Norman in the picture, we protect homes that are well over 14,000 square feet. These homes are being sold for well over 8 million dollars, so the property values have continued to increase. That is why in 1957, the volunteers struggled to pay for the needed supplies to keep the fire department in operation. In talking to some of the older members, they spoke about running a fire call and then stopping by the service station and using their own money to replace the fuel in the truck before returning it to the station. The forefathers of the Denver Volunteer Fire Department were not just visionaries, they personally sacrificed to ensure the public was protected. Today, with the fire department’s estimated property value reaching over $1.8 billion dollars, the fire department has not only constructed a large administrative and operational fire station located on NC highway 16, but has also added 2 operational substations. The fire department now also stores a fire boat on the water front of Lake Norman. As you can see, the fire department has grown to keep up with the development coming to our community and with the foresight of the board of directors and fire department management, we will continue to push to the future and keep ahead of the growth.