The East Bernstadt Volunteer Fire Department celebrated its 60th anniversary with a fish fry on Sept. 7, bringing community members together to honor the department’s legacy.
Founded in 1965, the department has remained strictly volunteer since its inception, with generations of firefighters and board members donating their time to protect the East Bernstadt area. Current Board President Roger Schott, whom many know as the Laurel County Circuit Clerk, and Secretary-Treasurer Diana Schott Lincks — children of the department’s founding organizer, Edward L. Schott — continue to help lead the department as it marks six decades of service.
While the fish fry served as the centerpiece of the celebration, the event also honored the department’s history and the people who built it.
The idea to form a fire department in East Bernstadt began in January 1964, after a fire destroyed the old Helvetia School. Edward Schott, a local store owner and lifelong resident of the area, arrived at the scene with his son, Roger, then 12 years old. The county fire truck, newly part of a system chartered in 1962, took over an hour to respond — long after the building was lost.
“That snowy Sunday morning changed everything,” Roger recalled. “Dad stood there and said, ‘Boys, I’m going to do everything in my power to get us a fire department out here.’ and he did.”
Edward Schott organized a group of merchants and neighbors, calling the first meeting at the East Bernstadt School. They left with $570 in commitments —$500 of it his own — and a plan to start Kentucky’s first rural volunteer fire department in the southeastern part of the state. The department was officially chartered in the fall of 1965.
From the start, it relied on bake sales, donations, and local partnerships to stay afloat.
“We didn’t have yard sales then,” Diana said. “We baked cakes, we made cookies — we did everything we could to raise money.”
Over the years, the department grew and moved locations, eventually settling in the current building in 1984. On Edward Schott’s 65th birthday that year, firefighters surprised him by naming the building in his honor. The Schott Building remains the department’s home today.
Now, the department continues to operate as a 100% volunteer agency. Firefighters receive no pay, and board members are barred from compensation under the department’s bylaws. Volunteer firefighters must complete at least 115 hours of training for Firefighter I certification, and 300 for Firefighter II.
“This is specific training,” Diana said. “You can’t just volunteer and come in here and start fighting a fire. They get nothing for it — except a Christmas dinner and a shirt.”
Like Roger, Diana also reflected on her father’s legacy in light of the anniversary.
“Daddy’s memory should always be that he cared about people and he wanted to help,” she said. “He gave people dignity by giving them work, not just a handout.”
Sixty years after its founding, the East Bernstadt Volunteer Fire Department remains active in fire response, safety programs, and community service — a vision first set in motion by Edward Schott and carried forward by the village he helped rally.