For other uses of this acronym, see VFD.
V.F.D. is the main organization within the books of which most of the recurring characters are members. The acronym "V.F.D." stands for "Volunteer Fire Department". Exactly what VFD does is never made clear, and it goes to great lengths to conceal all traces of its activities, including the use of complex disguises and codes. All of their members wear a tattoo of the organization's symbol on their ankles, which is often mistaken for an eye because of its design. Because of the song lyrics provided in the Unauthorized Autobiography, it can be assumed that all V.F.D. members are trained there from childhood to adulthood, after being dragged by their ankles from their homes. Also, from the various tales of characters that have appeared with the book series, it seems that all of the members of V.F.D. are also orphans or become orphans at some point in their lives.
V.F.D Insignia
This page absolutely does contain spoilers either about the behind-the-scenes or narrative elements of stories which have not yet been published or broadcast.
The Schism
The Schism is an incident that occurred within V.F.D. that broke up the members into two sides: The Fire-Starting Side, and the Fire-Fighting side. As Kit Snicket so eloquently worded it in The End, those sides are literal and figurative. For example, the Fire-Starting Side not only commits arson on certain occasions, but generally causes panic and mayhem wherever they venture. A perfect example of this is Count Olaf.
The Fire-Starting Side
Leaders
- Count Olaf. Yet it is said that there are worst villains in the world and the Baudelaires immediately think of the man with no hair and a beard and the woman with hair but no beard who possessed such sinister auras that even Olaf and Esme were shaken by their presence. It seems to be that Olaf was definitely a huge addition to V.F.D., but it may simply because he was inside it while it is unknown if the man with no hair and a beard and the woman with hair but no beard were ever even on the "good side" of V.F.D. and only affected the organization externally. Olaf was the inside man who helped break the organization apart probably using such tactics as we read in the books; mob psychology, intimidation, threatening and violence, etc.
- The man with a beard but no hair and the woman with hair but no beard. They themselves were the cause of the destruction of the V.F.D. Headquarters (one of them) in the Mortmain Mountains in Book 10, meaning they knew all the passwords and secrets to gain entry into the secret place. They remarked that Olaf was a foolish because he didn't savor his work. They apparently had burnt the organization in sections and maintained the fire to prolong the pyromaniac sensations they got from it, whereas Olaf would just torch the place and then laugh as he watched it burn. They seem to known all and more secrets than Olaf. They seem to be wiser, although it's unknown if they're older than Olaf (who was somewhere in his forties). It is unknown if they were that big in the "good" V.F.D. for a time or if they just got the passwords, codes, and secrets from Olaf and many other people by intimidation and force. The pair are extremely resourceful, even getting the Snicket files, one of the several important artifacts of V.F.D. and the stories. However, they may just be dark lackeys of Olaf, though we are led to doubt this conclusion as they are more than resourceful enough to be the "bad" leaders themselves.
Other known members
- The man with a beard but no hair
- The woman with hair but no beard
- The Powder-Faced Women (left Count Olaf's troupe and therefore presumed to have left V.F.D.)
- The Hook-Handed Man
- The Enormous Androgynous Person (died in The Hostile Hospital)
- The Bald Long-Nosed Man (died in The Carnivorous Carnival)
- Esmé Squalor (introduced in The Ersatz Elevator)
- Fiona Widdershins (Fernald's younger sister)
- Carmelita Spats
The Three former circus performers Collette,Kevin,and Hugo were good but were forced to join VFD. However, they were willing to 'switch' sides, just so they could stop being freaks in Madame Lulu's Carnival.
~
And many others
The Fire-Fighting Side
Leaders
It is not known for sure if there are any leaders out there, though there are several prominent volunteers. However, it is stated in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events movie, based on the first three stories, directs to a different conclusion. In the movie Klaus finds a gold spyglass with the letters V.F.D in both Monty's house and Aunt Josephine's. Aunt Josephine, just before the Lachrymose leeches attack, tells the Baudelaire orphans a figurative or literal secret about their parents. She says "Your parents led us." They then ask her what they said and Aunt Josephine says, grimly, "We're going to die." But when questioned further, she screams "It's the leeches!" and points, proclaiming the arrival of the Lachrymose leeches coming for the boat. Thus, it is also unknown if their parents said that they were going to die or that she was just saying it out of fear.
Some would take her words, "Your parents led us," to mean that Baudelaire parents the were staunchest, most important volunteers still alive, even the de jure (yet unofficial) leaders of the organization. It may also mean that they were the official "leaders" of the organization, most likely since so many other higher, more experienced members were murdered. Whatever you may believe, it is very probable to say that the Baudelaire parents really were prominent in the organization- somewhere very near the top- because Olaf persistently goes after the orphans. This is probably because they murdered his parents (who were on his side of the schism) with poison darts and the fact that the Baudelaires were fabulously wealthy (it seems the most wealthy family in the books rivaling or besting the Quagmires with their renowned sapphires), but it is likely the Baudelaire parents were trouble. It is stated, when speaking of Sunny when she's Olaf's prisoner on Mount Fraught, that "she's (they've) been almost as much as their parents."
Other known members
- Lemony Snicket
- Kit Snicket In the Penultimate Peril and The End
- Jacques Snicket In The Vile Village
- Frank Denouement
- Dewey Denouement (died in The Penultimate Peril)
- Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire
- Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire
- Mr. and Mrs. Quagmire
- Duncan, Isadora and Quigley Quagmire
- Gustav Sebald
- Josephine and Ike Anwhistle
- Captain Widdershins Introduced in The Grim Grotto
- Montgomery Montgomery Introduced in The Reptile Room
- Justice Strauss Introduced in The Bad Beginning
- Jerome Squalor Introduced in The Ersatz Elevator
- Hector
- Hal
- Charles (Was first seen in The Miserable Mill)
And many others
References to the Schism and V.F.D.
In The Penultimate Peril, Kit Snicket says that "The schism. V.F.D. was once a united group of volunteers, trying to extinguish fires - both literally and figuratively. But now there are two groups of bitter enemies."