Monroe County Commissioners honored 75 years of service by the Tavernier Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Corps Inc. (TVFD), as the organization retires its memorandum of understanding with Monroe County.
A proclamation recognized the organization’s long-standing role in safeguarding lives and property, and its lasting impact on the Tavernier community. Fire Station 22 in Tavernier remains fully staffed and operated by Monroe County Fire Rescue, as it has been since the 1990s.
Established in 1949, TVFD was the first volunteer fire and ambulance organization in the Florida Keys. For more than seven decades, its volunteers provided fire protection, rescue response and emergency medical services to Tavernier and surrounding communities, serving as a vital partner in Monroe County’s public safety network.
The department’s beginnings are part of local legend.
“Our first ambulance was a repurposed hearse,” said Don Bock, who joined the organization at 18 years old. “We didn’t have much, but we had people willing to step up whenever the community needed them.”
Volunteers came from every walk of life, united by a commitment to protecting their neighbors. The Women’s Auxiliary played a key support role, responding with food and drinks to sustain volunteers during extended incidents. The department also provided many Coral Shores High School graduates with their first experience in the fire service.
The original fire station housed just two fire trucks, an image preserved today in one of the earliest Art in Public Places murals by artist Nestor Madalengoitia, which still hangs in the station’s meeting room.
The department’s legacy is also closely tied to the late commissioner Sylvia Murphy, a devoted supporter and volunteer herself.
TVFD donated decades of memorabilia to Monroe County. The department’s patch board has been transferred to headquarters in Marathon. A historic display cabinet will be placed at the Murray Nelson Government Center, and two additional cabinets featuring fire and EMS artifacts will be housed at the Alex Vega Key West Fire Museum.
TVFD will also remain permanently honored at Station 22 through exterior signs and the plaque commemorating “Stoker,” the Dalmatian given in memory of a fallen volunteer.
Although TVFD is no longer responding to emergency calls, the nonprofit, led by Steve Pollock, Martin Moreithi, Don Bock and Sue Heim will continue supporting education and training in the fire and EMS fields.
