Copyright 2008 - Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Pipes and Drums
The history of the Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Pipes and Drums is brief, but already rich with honor and tradition.
In 1995, longtime firefighter/piper Tim Birr joined the fire district and taught then-firefighter Norvin Collins how to play, after which the pair began making the rounds of fire service functions, funerals, and ceremonies.
In August of 2000, a group of TVF&R members asked Birr and Collins if they would provide lessons. As word of the fledgling band got out, the original members were soon joined by firefighters from other Portland metro-area departments. While the band carries the name of its host agency, it is truly a metro fire service pipe band. Over the years, its ranks have grown to include not only firefighters, but several members of the local law enforcement and public service agencies. To this day, band members wear a band patch on the left sleeve of their uniform and their agency patch on the right, allowing them to represent both TVF&R and their home agency at the same time.
By the spring of 2001, many in the original group had become proficient enough on the chanter (practice instrument) to purchase bagpipes, and the group began purchasing uniforms and recruiting drummers to round out what would soon become a band.
In an ironic twist of history and fate, the band’s first official appearance was scheduled to be the City of Tigard’s 40th birthday celebration on September 11, 2001. Given the tragic events of that day, the Tigard event was postponed, but the band hit the ground running in successive weeks, playing dozens of 9-11 vigils and memorials throughout the metropolitan area.
Following that “baptism of fire,” the band established itself as the first fire service pipe band in the Pacific Northwest, carrying on a tradition begun on the East Coast by firefighters in places like New York City and Boston. In recent years, the band has been regionally joined by the Seattle Firefighters Pipes and Drums, Snohomish County Pipes and Drums, and the Eugene Firefighter Pipe Band.
Members of the band have performed in Boston, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Sitka and internationally in Guadalajara, Mexico in the fall of 2005 and again in 2006.
As proud as its members are of these events, the band has never lost sight of its primary mission…serving as a ceremonial asset to the region’s fire service.
