In March of 1973, the County broke ground for a second fire station, Fire Station #2 in Tabb, at the corner of Big Bethel Road and Route 171 (now Victory Boulevard). The 8,000 square foot station was completed in April of 1974 and opened in June of 1974 with one engine, one tanker, and a rescue unit.

During 1976, the York County Professional Fire Fighters Local 2498 of the International Association of Fire Firefighters (IAFF) was formed.  Its first president was Kenneth R. Owens.

In February of 1979, the County broke ground for a third fire station.  The 6,274 square foot Fire Station #3 was opened on Hubbard Lane in the Bruton area of the County on August 20, 1979.

In 1984, the department became the first Emergency Medical Services Agency on the Virginia Peninsula to provide Paramedic level Advanced Life Support Emergency Medical Care. The same year, the department affiliated itself with the Tidewater Regional Fire Academy, a standardized regional program for the training of career firefighters.

In July of 1986, the department consolidated its administrative offices in a new Public Safety Building renovated from an old bank building located at Ballard Street and Main Street in Yorktown. The building (which was originally the First National Bank of Yorktown) had been donated to the County by Central Fidelity Bank three years earlier.   Fire Administrative offices were located on the first floor and the County’s new 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Center (ECC) was located upstairs. Prior to the opening of the ECC, the fire department was dispatched by members located in a dispatch office on the apparatus bay of Fire Station #1, and the Sheriff’s Department was dispatched by deputies located in the County Jail. In November, York County voters approved the sale of $2.85 million in bonds to fund improvements to the fire department.  The bond referendum funded the construction of three new fire stations, the purchase of new fire apparatus and improvements to Fire Station #1 (Grafton).

In 1988, a major restructuring of County government resulted in the York County Department of Fire and Rescue Services being renamed the York County Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire and Rescue.  Chief Wallace J. Robertson was promoted to Director of the newly created Department of Public Safety and Training Officer/Battalion Chief Stephen P. Kopczynski was promoted to head the new Division of Fire and Rescue as Fire Chief.

On April 22, 1990, Fire Station #1 (Grafton) was re-dedicated after an extensive renovation. During the renovation, a trailer was utilized to replace the station’s day room and kitchen. At the re-dedication ceremony, the department’s original volunteer members were provided engraved Jefferson Cups and honored as charter members of the York County Fire and Rescue Service.

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