Belforest Volunteer Fire department

By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News

May 13, 2025

BELFOREST Ala. Traffic in the growing suburb of the Belforest Community looks more like any metropolitan area during morning rush hour except, like in many areas of growing Baldwin County, the streets are narrow, two-lane roads that were never intended to carry the number of vehicles that they now see daily.

During the past week, the local volunteer fire department has been called out at least three times to accidents including one that occurred overnight Monday in the area of 10526 CR 64 where a vehicle lost control and ended up in a pond.

Belforest firefighters were the first to arrive on-scene and found the driver to be trapped but were able to quickly extricate him.

When ALEA troopers arrived to investigate the wreck, they determined that the driver had been driving under the influence of alcohol, and they arrested Lawrence Smith Jr., 35, and transported him to the Baldwin County Detention Center.

Firefighters were at the wreck for more than two hours.

On Tuesday morning May 13th, 2025, Belforest firefighters were also called to a three-vehicle crash that occurred in the area of County Road 64 and County Road 55 at 7:00 a.m. There were no injuries reported but firefighters directed traffic and stood by until an ALEA trooper arrived.

Firefighters were also called to a wreck with injuries near the Belforest Elementary School a few days earlier where they assisted in the medical aid of the injured and directed traffic.

The local fire department is also in the middle of an area seeing rapid growth with several subdivisions either currently under construction or that have been approved to be built within their response area.

Their current response area takes them into the rural areas of Baldwin County as well as the rapidly growing area of County Road 65 and State Highway 181 and they’re often called to assist fire departments for mutual-aid responses.

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