Lydia Rural Fire Dept.

The Lydia Rural Fire Department, the first rural fire department in this county, was organized in 1954 after fires destroyed three houses in less than a month. Its organizers met at the store and gas station owned by E. Gay Bass (1913-1997). By mid-1955 the department had received a charter, built a fire station, and bought two trucks. Bass, its first fire chief, served 23 years.