Drewryville Volunteer Fire Department

04/21/2026

The Neal Conwell Memorial Scholarship Flyer and Application have been sent to some of the local schools this morning. We weren't able to reach others to get the correct information for a few reasons. If someone would like more information or an application, they can contact the department at [email protected].

Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must:
• Be a graduating high school senior
• Plan to enroll in a minimum two-year program in:
Firefighting, Law Enforcement, Medicine, or Emergency Medical Services
• Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5
• Be a resident of one of the following:
Southampton County, Sussex County, Greensville County, Brunswick County, Isle of Wight County, or the Cities of Emporia or Franklin

04/10/2026

**Working Structure Fire**

On Thursday April 9, 2026 Drewryville and Capron Fire were dispatched to the 25000-Blk of Tennessee Rd for a structure fire. Engine 71 marked en route 3 minutes after dispatch with a crew of 4, Rescue Engine 70 marked enroute 2 minutes later with a crew of 4, Tanker 72 4 minutes after them with a crew of 2.

Safety Officer 70, arrived prior to incoming fire apparatus and advised Engine 71 of a single story wood frame structure with heavy fire showing from multiple windows and through the roof of the C/D corner of the home.

Engine 71 arrived on scene 9 minutes after initial dispatch and deployed 2 hose lines into the home quickly knocking down the fire. The fire was marked under control 4 minutes after arrival, less than 15 minutes after the initial 911 call was made.

The occupant of the home is receiving aid from the Red Cross, he was able to escape uninjured.

Units on Scene:

Drewryville-Engine 71, Rescue 70, Tanker 72, SO 70, Chief 70.
Capron-Engines 32 & 33, Tanker 31, Rescue 37, Brush 36, Medic 35.

03/29/2026

Last night, March 28th, Drewryville Fire held our annual awards banquet and dinner. Thank you to everyone in the community who came out to support us and who supported us day in and day out.

Dinner was prepared by department members, and we served over 80 people during the event.

The awards portion of the program was led by Chief Wyatt Whitby, who let the community know that the department responded to 87 calls for service in 2025, with an average turnout time of 4 minutes and an average response time of just over 6 minutes.

The top call responders for 2025 were awarded:

Firefighter David Spinks
Firefighter Cory Everett
Engineer David Gibson
Assistant Chief Jonathan Whitby
Fire Chief Wyatt Whitby
Safety Officer Dennis Whitby

All of these members received awards for being a top call responder in 2025.

The next award, and the most heartfelt, was given and received a standing ovation from the entire audience.

"To date, we have honored 5 current or former members with Life Membership to the department. Tonight, we are going to honor the 6th, until last year we did not know that this individual had reached 20 years of consecutive service. When we became aware, it was an easy choice for the membership committee. Joining in 1967 as a charter member, serving into the late 1980's, the officers and members of this fire department would like to honor Charter and the newest Life Member of the Drewryville Volunteer Fire Department, Mr. James Flowers."

James was presented with a plaque while his family looked on, the entire audience giving a standing ovation.

Chief Whitby then informed the audience that next year, 2027, would be our 60th anniversary and that the following people would be honored with life or honorary membership.

Charter Member Bert Ramsey Jr. (Life Membership)
Neal Conwell (Honorary Membership)
Keith Suits (Honorary Membership)
Arthur Gaskins (Honorary Membership)
Walter Gaskins (Honorary Membership)

The following people were also recognized with years of service awards:

Chief Wyatt Whitby (15 years)
Lieutenant Tyler Hadaway (5 years)
FF Hunter Ezell (5 Years)

The Keith Suits Memorial Award for Officer of the Year was presented to Chief Wyatt Whitby & Lieutenant Tyler Hadaway.

The Jerry Mattox Award for Firefighter of the Year was presented to Dennis Whitby & Runner-Up Cory Everett.

In attendance to the banquet were quite a few faces of the department from the past or their family.

Past Chief & Life Member Wynne Thomas
Past Chief Steve Griffith
Charter Member (Now Life Member) James Flowers
Family of Chief Neal Conwell
Family of Assistant Chief Keith Suits
Family of 2027 Life Member Bert Ramsey
Family of Life Member & Past Chief Jerry Mattox

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported us and who continues to support us. We will see everyone next year for Number 60!

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