V.F.D.

V.F.D.
V.F.D.
	File:VFD.svg V.F.D. logo
Universe	A Series of Unfortunate Events
Type	Secret
Location	Mortmain Mountains, Hotel Denouement
Key people	Snicket siblings, Quagmire triplets, Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire
Technologies	V.F.D. Codes, Vertical Flame Diversions, Verdant Flammable Devices

For other uses of these initials, see VFD.

V.F.D. is a secret organization within the children's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. V.F.D. is commonly used as an acronym to various related terms within the series, which helps to increase the reader's confusion of what the initials actually stand for.

History

V.F.D. was first mentioned in The Austere Academy when Duncan and Isadora Quagmire were kidnapped by the villainous Count Olaf. The Baudelaires heard the Quagmires scream "V.F.D!"; however, the Quagmires were taken away before they could say anything further. There are mentions of V.F.D. in every book in the series following The Austere Academy. The theme becomes increasingly prominent in subsequent volumes as the Baudelaire orphans investigate the initials' true meaning, and it appears to figure centrally in their parents' deaths and the schemes of their enemy, Count Olaf. It eventually transpires that it is the name of a secret organization. The Slippery Slope suggests that V.F.D. stands for Volunteer Fire Department, among other things; in The End Lemony Snicket's narration confirms that Volunteer Fire Department is the correct meaning of the initials. In The Grim Grotto it is revealed that while this was the origin of the organization, its members had many other interests.

While the name "Volunteer Fire Department" connotes a group that actively puts out fires, it can be read to mean a group that actively starts fires, which indeed happens when the group is split because of a schism. One group of schismatics puts out fires and the other group sets fires. When the schism occurred and exactly why it occurred is unknown, except that it was in the childhood of Kit Snicket and Dewey Denouement, but it appears that a line has been drawn between those who stop fires and those who start them.

The protagonists of the series (Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire) discover that their parents were members of this secret organization, as were many of the guardians they were placed with after their parents' death, along with various other people they encounter throughout the books.

Codes

The organization makes use of many codes, most notably the Sebald Code. Other codes used include:

Mozart's 14th Symphony, whistled
Verse Fluctuation Declaration, where coded words of poems are replaced
Verbal Fridge Dialogue, using the contents of a refrigerator to encode documents
Various coded phrases, including "The world is quiet here", "I didn't realize this was a sad occasion", "Well, young lady, have you been good to your mother?", "The question is, has she been good to me?", and "If there's nothing out there, then what was that noise?"
Sebald Code is a code in which during any type of communication, be it a movie, a lecture, a song, a speech or in normal diologue, between the ringing or the mention of the ringing of bells, the first word and every eleventh word afterwards forms part of a coded sentence.

Eye symbol

V.F.D.'s symbol is the human eye, especially one containing the organization's initials hidden in its design. To the Baudelaires, the eye is also a symbol of Count Olaf, their first long-term guardian since the passing of their parents, who had a tattoo of an eye on his ankle and whose home was decorated with eye designs. Jacques Snicket, along with all V.F.D members who joined prior to the schism, also had this tattoo. For this, as well as for his resemblance to the Count, he was sentenced to be burned at the stake in Olaf's place, before he was murdered by Count Olaf himself in The Vile Village.

The Sugar Bowl

A mysterious sugar bowl is of value to members on both sides of the schism, and serves as a MacGuffin to drive the story in later books. Despite it and its contents being pursued by volunteers, villains, and the Baudelaires, its significance is never revealed and it does not even appear in the final book of the series. Then one hint to its true meaning is the remark, "it isn't the sugar bowl that's important, it's what's inside it." The sugar bowl is known to have belonged to Esmé Squalor, and to have been stolen by Beatrice.

The Baudelaires' discoveries

V.F.D. is first mentioned by Duncan Quagmire in The Austere Academy, when he tries to tell Klaus something terrible about Count Olaf's past, but can only manage to yell the organization's initials before he's taken away.
Next, in The Ersatz Elevator, the Baudelaires discover a tunnel from 667 Dark Avenue (the home of Esmé and Jerome Squalor) to the Baudelaire mansion. Esmé is part of the V.F.D.'s fire-starting side, and Jerome became a part of the firefighting side sometime after the events in The Ersatz Elevator. Also, in the 'In Auction' the Baudelaires buy 'V.F.D.' but find out that it only stood for 'Very Fancy Doilies' and that they weren't the V.F.D. they were looking for (doilies are very briefly mentioned also in the twelfth book, when the author makes a vague reference to a family that has been scouring the globe for a terribly important doily).
In The Vile Village, the Baudelaires are offered a home in a village known only as "V.F.D." Thinking this may be related to the aforementioned secret, they arrive only to find it stands for Village of Fowl Devotees. The two V.F.D.s are apparently unrelated. Also, they meet a man named Jacques who appears to be a member of V.F.D. Jacques says his job is being a "Volunteer-" but is cut off by Esmé. Later, Duncan yells the word "Volunteer" while being lifted off by Hector's self-sustaining hot air mobile home.
In The Hostile Hospital, the Baudelaires meet a group of people who call themselves the Volunteers Fighting Disease, also probably unrelated to the organization. Also, they discover that one of their parents could be alive because of a sentence on the 13th page of the Snicket File: "Because of the evidence discussed on page nine, experts now suspect that there may, in fact, be one survivor of the fire", which was accompanied by a photograph of the Baudelaire parents, Jacques Snicket and a person whose face is turned against the camera (most likely Lemony Snicket). This fire survivor could be Beatrice, though she is stated in numerous places to be dead. Then, in book 10, Quigley Quagmire states his belief that he was the survivor mentioned.
In The Carnivorous Carnival the Baudelaires find out about the disguise kit and are introduced to the eye.
In The Slippery Slope, it is suggested that the initials actually stand for Volunteer Fire Department, which ties in with a number of other clues in the novels.
In The Grim Grotto, Captain Widdershins tells the Baudelaires that V.F.D. started out as a fire department, but it eventually expanded to have planes and ships and included many areas of undercover studies.
In The Penultimate Peril, the Baudelaires find a person named Dewey Denouement, who was the only one who knew where the sugar bowl is. When he died, the secret supposedly died with him, although the narrative implies that the bowl was removed by a taxi driver, who is suggested to be Lemony Snicket himself.
In The End, it is revealed that the initials stand for Volunteer Fire Department, although it is hinted that the same initials stand for a variety of things, just like the organization to which the initials belong.

Snicket's hints

In Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, many occurrences of V.F.D. are seen but more importantly, it reveals much more about the nature of V.F.D. as an organization:

Many members have belonged to V.F.D. since they were children. (page 38)
Children were stolen from their parents - albeit with permission page 38 - and were raised to become volunteers (pages 12-20). The children were selected for having exceptional observational and note-taking skills (page 39). The children were then isolated from their families.
The goal of V.F.D. is to ensure that the world remains "quiet". The pledge of the secret society is "The world is quiet here". (This is an allusion to the first lines of Algernon Charles Swinburne's poem, The Garden of Proserpine.) (pages 36 and 39)
Count Olaf was a member of V.F.D. (page 45)
Because of its enemies, V.F.D. is forced to change its headquarters often. (page 51)
Members of V.F.D. do not get paid. (page 19)
Since the schism, V.F.D. has realized that it is unwise to permanently mark oneself with a symbol when the meaning of the symbol may change at any moment, so people who now join V.F.D. do not receive a tattoo anymore. (page 191)
Headquarters of V.F.D. have been constructed by Lucky Smells Lumbermill using special "emerald lumber". (page 170)

Locations with V.F.D. activity

The following is a list of locations with V.F.D. activity.

Count Olaf's House (The Bad Beginning): The eye symbol appears all over the house. Count Olaf used to be a V.F.D. member.
Uncle Monty's House (The Reptile Room): Home to the famed Reptile Room, which housed V.F.D.'s supply of reptiles, some of which were trained to sense arson activity. It also contains a library of V.F.D. and reptile books. The reptiles were removed by the Herpetological Society, and in The Slippery Slope, it was revealed that Olaf cheated a man (Bruce) out of the reptile collection, so they are now in Olaf's ownership ("except for one", slips Olaf, possibly referring to the Incredibly Deadly Viper, which appeared in The End). The reptiles' whereabouts are unknown, and the house was burned down. It had a secret passage to the Quagmire mansion. It was located in the countryside, on or near Lousy Lane.
Aunt Josephine's House (The Wide Window): Before being destroyed during Hurricane Herman, it was located by the shores of Lake Lachrymose. In Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, it says that important documents are located in Ivan Lachrymose: Lake Explorer under someone's bed. A copy of this book is located under Aunt Josephine's bed.
Lucky Smells Lumbermill (The Miserable Mill): The archives for the Daily Punctilio were kept nearby the lumbermill, although they were eventually destroyed. The lumbermill itself provided lumber for a number of buildings connected to V.F.D.
Dr. Orwell's Office (The Miserable Mill): The office is shaped like an eye.
Prufrock Preparatory School (The Austere Academy) Ms. K., (who was Kit Snicket in disguise) taught at the school and recruited two children there upon being fired.
667 Dark Avenue (The Ersatz Elevator): It contains a secret passage which leads to the Baudelaire mansion. Jacques Snicket begged Jerome Squalor to purchase the apartment, most likely to protect the passageway. Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography states that there is a floor above the penthouse apartment. The book also implies that this location is important.
Heimlich Hospital (The Hostile Hospital): The hospital's Library of Records is shown both in the text and in illustrations to contain documents pertinent to V.F.D.
Caligari Carnival (The Carnivorous Carnival): The carnival is the home of Madame Lulu, who owns a V.F.D. disguise kit and an archival library containing numerous V.F.D.-related documents. It was mentioned that crucial evidence was hidden inside a figurine sold there.
Mortmain Mountains (The Slippery Slope): The Valley of Four Drafts in the Mortmain Mountains was home of the V.F.D. Headquarters before it was burnt down. The sugar bowl was there at one point, although it was tossed out the window when the fire began. Several activities were conducted, including training, stargazing, and others. A cave in the mountains is home to a Vertical Flame Diversion, where one can climb to and from the headquarters, and for security, a Vernacularly Fastened Door, which only opens on certain conditions. Several caves were home to Volunteer Feline Detectives, which were lions trained to smell smoke.
Anwhistle Aquatics (The Grim Grotto): Anwhistle Aquatics was a marine research and rhetorical advice center run by a volunteer, Gregor Anwhistle, and built on top of a grotto where volunteers met. The sugar bowl floated there, but was collected by an unknown individual. When the center was destroyed before the series began, the Medusoid Mycelium was released into the Grotto.
Hotel Denouement (The Penultimate Peril): The hotel was V.F.D.'s "last safe place". There is a catalog of every villain, related objects, characters and incidents that is hidden in a secret building beneath the pond. It was home to Dewey Denouement and his brothers.
Baudelaire Mansion: The home of Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire was burned down. The mansion has a passageway which connects it to 667 Dark Avenue. It was also made of the Lucky Smells Lumbermill's emerald lumber.
Vineyard of Fragrant Drapes (Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography): The vineyard is a garden where marriages are held. Sometimes disguises itself as the Vineyard of Fragrant Grapes. Communications using V.F.D. codes have been sent from there.
Daedalus Dock (Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography): The Prospero is a ship for V.F.D. transport.
Valorous Farms Dairy (Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography): A dairy where Lemony Snicket's birth took place.
Café Salmonella (The Ersatz Elevator) and Anxious Clown (The Wide Window): Both restaurants employ waiters who may be part of V.F.D.. It is suggested that Café Salmonella waiters are traitors.
Opportune Odors Horseradish Factory (The Grim Grotto): The factory prouduced horseradish, the antidote to Medusoid Mycelium, and was built by Lucky Smells Lumbermill.
"Olaf-Land" (The End): It is situated in the global currents, which cause it to collect various debris, including survivors of shipwrecks. Members of V.F.D., including the Baudelaire parents, attempted to create a safe utopian society on its soil, but were prevented. There were once plans to build a tunnel from there to Anwhistle Aquatics.

Other instances of V.F.D. in the series

V.F.D. animals

Members

The following is a table depicting all of the known members of V.F.D. and the role of each member in the plot. As some characters' V.F.D. membership is only assumed or implied in the books, this list may not be absolutely accurate.

Volunteers

Name	Description/occupation	Plot
Lemony Snicket	Author of the books	Mysterious researcher who records and publishes the unfortunate events of the Baudelaire lives. Has an unknown role in the fire-stopping side of V.F.D. Possibly co-researcher with Dewey Denouement.
Jacques Snicket	Lemony and Kit Snicket's brother	Was framed for being Count Olaf (due to their similar appearance) and to be burned at the stake in the Village of Fowl Devotees, but was instead murdered by the real Count Olaf, who then blamed it on the three Baudelaire children.
Kit Snicket	Lemony and Jacques Snicket's sister and previously Mrs. K at Prufrock Preparatory School.	Mentioned a few times in the Grim Grotto, and takes the Baudelaires away in a taxi at the end of the book. Died while giving birth to her child Beatrice in The End.
Ike and Josephine Anwhistle	Third guardian of Baudelaire orphans	Both were apparently devoured by the Lachrymose leeches on separate occasions, although it is possible that Aunt Josephine did not die, as Lemony Snicket has never directly stated that she died. Ike died before the Baudelaires were put into their care, but Josephine was tossed out of a boat by Count Olaf.
Dr. Gustav Sebald	film director & Dr. Montgomery's former assistant	Uses the Sebald code in his films to pass on coded messages to volunteers. Uncle Monty's old assistant, murdered by Count Olaf.
Sally Sebald	Sister of Dr. Gustav Sebald	.
Hector	Previous resident of the Village of Fowl Devotees and the seventh Baudelaire guardian.	Was said by Kit during The End that he and the Quagmire Triplets were taken away by the Great Unknown.
Bertrand and Beatrice Baudelaire	Possibly and most likely members of V.F.D.	Parents of the Baudelaire orphans, presumed to have been killed in a mansion fire (although it is implied that there was a survivor). In The Penultimate Peril, it is implied that the Baudelaire parents were involved in the murder of Olaf's parents.
Isadora, Duncan, and Quigley Quagmire	Orphaned triplets and heirs to the Quagmire Sapphires	The Baudelaires met and befriended Duncan (an aspiring journalist) and Isadora (a poet) at Prufrock Preparatory School. Quigley was thought to have perished in the fire that killed the Quagmire parents, but is discovered alive in The Slippery Slope. He is a cartographer.
Captain Widdershins	Submarine captain	Stepfather of Fiona and Fernald (The Hook-Handed Man). His philosophy is "he who hesitates is lost"
Dr. Montgomery Montgomery	Herpetologist	Second and most beloved guardian of the Baudelaires. Actual involvement is debatable; he never learnt the Sebald code, but has V.F.D. books in his library, his collection of snakes was used by V.F.D. and he intended to travel on the "Prospero". Died after being injected with snake venom by Count Olaf.
Mr. and Mrs. Quagmire	Unknown	Parents of Isadora, Duncan, and Quigley Quagmire. Died in the fire that destroyed their home. Mother hid Quigley in a secret passage leading to Montgomery Montgomery's house.
Ishmael	The facilitator of an island of castaways	Ishmael was one of the first castaways, and he knew the Baudelaire parents. Also, Count Olaf reveals that Ishmael has a V.F.D. tattoo.
Larry	Waiter at the Anxious Clown restaurant	Suspected member of V.F.D, he uses the phrase "I didn't realize this was a sad occasion" and works at the Anxious Clown restaurant suspected to have V.F.D. members disguised as waiters.
Frank Denouement	Hotel Manager at the Hotel Denouement	One of the identical Denouement triplets
Dewey Denouement	Sub-Sub Librarian	Also one of the identical Denouement triplets. Implied that he is the father of Kit Snicket's baby. He is killed when Count Olaf hurriedly pushes the harpoon gun into the Baudelaires' hands, presumably to act "innocent" and the harpoon gun falls and accidentally goes off. It impales him in the chest and Dewey utters a "pained, choking gasp" and stumbles backward into the pond. His last word was "Kit" for Kit Snicket and he sinks into the pond and dies, still clutching the harpoon at his chest. The children finally tell Kit that Dewey is dead in The End.

Villains

Name	Occupation	Plot
Count Olaf	Impresario	The Baudelaires' first guardian, intent on acquiring both the Baudelaire and Quagmire fortunes. Previous member of V.F.D. before the schism. Dies in The End.
Esmé Squalor	Financial advisor	Sixth guardian of the Baudelaires. Olaf's girlfriend for books 7-12 (they broke up at the end of The Penultimate Peril).
Geraldine Julienne	Reporter	Reported the Baudelaire case inaccurately, and locked her editor in the basement on Esmé Squalor's orders; she seems otherwise clueless of V.F.D. activity.
The man with a beard, but no hair	High Court judge	Probably one of the lead villains, considered above even Count Olaf.
The woman with hair, but no beard	High Court judge	Probably one of the lead villains, considered above even Count Olaf.
Dr. Georgina Orwell	Hypnotist	Conspired with Olaf to steal the orphan's fortune, she was killed when she stepped back into a log cutter. While there is no solid evidence that she is a V.F.D. member, she does possess a jeweled cane that transforms into a sword, which is mentioned in Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography as part of the optometrist disguise.
Ernest Denouement	Hotel Manager at the Hotel Denouement	Another one of the Denouement triplets.

Unknown loyalties

Name	Occupation	Plot
Madame Olivia Lulu	Fortune teller at Caligari Carnival	Helped Olaf locate the Baudelaires, and later "fell" into a pit of lions. Could be Friday's (The End) aunt, as it is mentioned that a postcard from Kit Snicket to Olivia Caliban washes up on the shores of the island.

Has changed sides

Name	Occupation	Plot
Fiona	Mycologist	Stepdaughter of Captain Widdershins. She joined Count Olaf in The Grim Grotto to be close to her brother Fernald, however, in The Penultimate Peril, Count Olaf states that she and her brother took off on a search for their stepfather, Captain Widdershins. Kit Snicket claims that the pair found their stepfather at the end of The End.
Fernald, the Hook-Handed Man	Actor	Stepson of Captain Widdershins and brother to Fiona. Didn't get along with his stepfather and subsequently joined V.F.D. as one of Count Olaf's henchmen. He later left Olaf on a mission to find his stepfather with his sister, Fiona. Kit Snicket claims that the pair found their stepfather at the end of The End.

Other possible members

The Kornbluths