Old Town Alexandria Fire Department History: Firehouse Rivalries Your house is burning. The firefighters show up. Then they start fighting each other. That sounds insane, but volunteer firefighting in early America could be all rivalry, status, and sometimes real violence at the scene.  Old Town Alexandria depended on volunteer companies for decades. Friendship, Sun, Relief, Star, Hydraulion. These were community organizations first, emergency response second.  Then the Civil War shattered the