V.F.D.

For related terms, see VFD.

The V.F.D. is an organization within the A Series of Unfortunate Events children's books and Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, both written by Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. V.F.D. could be a recursive acronym, but its real meaning is unknown. Handler has woven V.F.D. into each book, getting increasingly obvious as the Baudelaire orphans grow older and more interested in V.F.D.'s true meaning. It has been suggested in the most recent books that VFD stands for Volunteer Fire Department.

History

In the books, the protangonists (Violet,Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire) discover that their parents were members of this secret organization, as well as apparently all of the guardians they were placed with after their parents had died. The V.F.D. underwent a serious schism. When exactly is unknown, but it appears that the line has been drawn between those who stop fires and those who start them. While the real name of the V.F.D. organization has yet to be revealed, "Volunteer Fire Department" seems the most reasonable due to many references of fires and the theme of fire running throughout the books. It is known that V.F.D. watches children seen to have talent in note-taking or observation, contacts them, and, with their permission, takes them from their home by the ankles.

The Eye

VFD's symbol is the human eye, especially one containing the organization's initials hidden in its design. To the Baudelaire children, the eye recalls Count Olaf, their first guardian, who bore a tattoo of an eye on his ankle and whose home was decorated with eye designs. Jacques Snicket also bore this tattoo, for this as well as his resemblance to the Count, he was burned at the stake in his place. The fact that both members bore the same tattoo implies that it may be a mark all members share, though it seems unlikely that the Baudelaires would never notice it on their own parents.

The Baudelaires' Discoveries

1. V.F.D. is first mentioned in The Austere Academy by Duncan Quagmire who tries to tell Klaus something terrible about Count Olaf's past but can only manage yelling the organization's initials before he's taken away.
2. Next 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 aformentioned secret, they arrive only to find it stands for Village of Fowl Devotees. The two V.F.D.s are apparently unrelated.
3. In The Hostile Hospital, we meet a group of people who call themselves the Volunteers Fighting Disease, also probably unrelated to the organization.
4. 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 (indeed, the author seems to have anticipated that some readers would have guessed already).
5. In The Grim Grotto, Captain Widdershins says to the Baudelaires that the V.F.D. started out as a Fire Department, but it eventually expanded to have planes and ships.

Snicket's Hints

For more information about what VFD stands for in the series, see List of VFDs

In Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, we see many occurrences of VFD but more importantly, it also reveals much more about the nature of V.F.D. as an organisation:

• Many of its members seem to be children (reference: page 38).
• The goal of V.F.D. is to ensure that the World remains "quiet", as they call it (reference pages 36 * and 39).
• Count Olaf seems to have been a member of V.F.D. (reference: page 45).
• Because of its greedy enemies, V.F.D. is very often forced to change its headquarters (reference: * page 51).
• A ship called "Prospero" is often used to carry members.
• Throughout, it is strongly suggested that the "D" stands for "disguise".

Members

The following is a table depicting all of the known members of VFD and a basic plot and role of the member. Membership of some characters is assumed or implied in the books, this list may not be 100% accurate.

Name	Description	Plot
Count Olaf	Actor	The Baudelaires' first guardian, out to get both the Baudelaire and Quagmire fortunes.
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 VFD.
Jacques Snicket	Lemony Snicket's brother	Was framed for being Count Olaf due to a similar appearance and was to be burned at the stake in the Village of Fowl Devotees but was first murdered by the real Count Olaf instead, who then proceeded to blame it on the three Baudelaire children.
Kit Snicket	Lemony Snicket's sister and previously Mrs. K at Prufrock Prepatory School.	Mentioned a few times in the Grim Grotto, and takes the Baudelaires away in a taxi at the end of the book. Although Kit Snicket is said to have been at the meeting in the transcripts, that is incorrect. Jacques Snicket, when in the transcript, says that he met everyone except for L(Lemony) at a previous spot where headquarters were. Thus proves she could have not been at the meeting.
Madame Lulu	Fortune teller at Caligari Carnival	Assisted Olaf and later devoured by lions on his orders.
Ike and Josephine Anwhistle	Third guardian of Baudelaire orphans	Both were devoured by the Lachrymose leeches on separate occasions.
Dr. Sebald	playwright	Uses the Sebald code in his plays and films to pass on coded messages to volunteers.
Sally Sebald	Sister of Dr. Gustav Sebald	Not known.
Hector	Previous resident of the Village of Fowl Devotees	Last known living on a self-made self-sustaining hot air balloon.
Baudelaire Parents|Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire	Not known	Parents of the Baudelaire orphans, killed in mansion fire supposedly started by Count Olaf (although it is implied that one survives and that it's not the father).
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 Prep 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) Widdershins.
Fiona Widdershins	Mycologist and stepdaughter of Captain Widdershins.	She joined the fire-starting side of the schism in The Grim Grotto to be close to her brother Fernald.
Fernald Widdershins (aka The Hook-Handed Man)	Actor	Stepson of Captian Widdershins and sister to Fiona. Didn't get along with his stepfather and subsequently joined the fire-starting side of VFD as one of Count Olaf's henchmen.
Uncle Monty	Herpetologist	Second and most beloved guardian of the Baudelaires. Actual involvement is debatable; he does not know the Sebald code, but seems to have VFD books in his library, and his collection of snakes were used by VFD. Also was injected with snake venom by Count Olaf.
The Duchess R	Resident of Winnipeg.	Not known.
C. M Kornbluth	Chief inventor.	Not known.
The man with a beard, but no hair	Not known	Part of the fire-starting side of VFD, perhaps even the leader of it.
The woman with hair, but no beard	Not known	Part of the fire-starting side of VFD, perhaps even the leader of it.
Mr. and Mrs. Quagmire	Unknown	Parents of Isadora, Duncan, and Quigley Quagmire.