Edinburg Fire Department to Host 5K Marking 100th Anniversary, Honoring Late Chief Shawn Snider

Edinburg, Edinburg Fire Department, 100th Anniversary, Shawn Snider, 5K Run

Staff Report

Edinburg TX – The Edinburg Fire Department will host a 5K run and walk to commemorate the department’s 100th anniversary and pay tribute to the memory of late Fire Chief Shawn Snider.

The first 250 registered participants will receive a complimentary event T-shirt, according to organizers. Registration is available at activeedinburg.com.

The Edinburg Volunteer Fire Department was originally established July 28, 1921, under Fire Chief John McKinney, and was reorganized May 24, 1926, under Fire Chief I. M. Stout, according to a 2003 Texas House of Representatives resolution honoring the department. The department’s E.E. Sanders Training Field has served as the centerpiece of the Rio Grande Valley Fire School, and the department has hosted the National Volunteer Fire Council’s quarterly meeting as well as a state firefighting convention.

Today, the Edinburg Fire Department is an ISO Class 3 full-service, all-hazard response organization, staffed by 84 career firefighters and 40 volunteer firefighters operating out of five fire stations with more than 30 fire apparatuses, according to the city.

Shawn Snider served as Edinburg’s fire chief from 1999 until his death in May 2023 following a battle with cancer. Snider began his firefighting career as a teenage volunteer with the Alamo Fire Department before joining the Edinburg Fire Department in 1991. During his career, Snider served as president of the State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association of Texas and held leadership roles with the Texas Fire Chiefs Association and the Rio Grande Valley Firefighters and Fire Marshals Association. In 2026, Snider’s name was added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Source – City of Edinburg Fire Department