Known members with the tattoo are:
Count Olaf
Ishmael
R
Jacques Snicket
Kit Snicket
Lemony Snicket
The process of tattooing was a requirement until the schism occurred. Due to this, presumably most volunteers older than or roughly the same age as the Snicket siblings are likely tattooed as well. Members of V.F.D. that were likely tattooed are:
Gregor and Ike Anwhistle
Josephine Anwhistle
Beatrice and Bertrand Baudelaire
Olivia Caliban
Dewey, Ernest and Frank Denouement
Lois Dressing
Ghede and Gifford
Man with a Beard but No Hair
S. Theodora Markson
Monty Montgomery
Georgina Orwell
Mr. and Mrs. Quagmire
Dashiell Qwerty
Gustav Sebald
Sally Sebald
Captain Widdershins and his wife
Woman with Hair but No Beard
Larry Your-Waiter
Appearances
A V.F.D. eye in Paltryville.
Even though the symbolic eye does not seem to be tattooed anymore, it still appears in multiple locations affiliated with V.F.D., including:
The inside of Count Olaf's house and tower
Georgina Orwell's office in Paltryville
Caligari Carnival tents
The Queequeg
In the Netflix Adaptation, the usage of the eye expands to:
The layout of both The City and The Island
The V.F.D. Spyglass lid
Monty Montgomery's hedge maze
667 Dark Avenue's stairwell
The clouds over the Village of Fowl Devotees
V.F.D. Headquarters
2004 Film Divergent Canon
The V.F.D. Spyglass is introduced in this adaptation and carried on into the later Netflix series, in which all members of the organization carry a personalized spyglass.
While not much is known about V.F.D. in the canon of the film, it is stated that Beatrice and Bertrand Baudelaire were the leaders of the group. It is also heavily implied by Monty that there is a Volunteer sanctuary in Peru, and heavily implied by Josephine that Olaf murdered the Baudelaire Parents because they knew too much.
The eye symbol (rather infamously) does not have the acronym hidden inside.
In the console version of the video game adaptation, V.F.D. sends the Baudelaires a package in Olaf's house with a parachute. It says it is from the "Very Fast Delivery" service, although the V.F.D. eye is seen stamped in its logo which, curiously, uses the eye in the books. It has a telegram which warns the Baudelaires to be wary of Olaf and says evidence is being collected of wrongdoings. It implores the Baudelaires to find more evidence and "when assembled, all will be revealed."
Netflix Series Divergent Canon
In the canon of the Netflix series, it is revealed that Ishmael founded the organization to make the world a quieter, less evil and safer place, hence their motto, "The world is quiet here." Kidnapping-based recruitment is not mentioned; instead, Ishmael claims that he would recruit children from Prufrock Preparatory School who seemed interested in learning.
The Volunteers have several underground tunnels, with signs pointing out exits, as well as a book on all their activities- The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations. If you look closely at the Sugar Bowl page, it says, "...the truth is that these differences have been churning under the surface of V.F.D. for some time, even going back to the organization's very name." This could possibly hint that the members who would start the fire-starting side didn't like the "Fire Department" part of the name because they had grown bored of fighting fires. Ironically, both sides of the schism represent an interpretation of the phrase "fire department"
In this canon, the schism occurred after Beatrice and Lemony caused the death of Olaf's father and stole the Sugar Bowl from an enraged Esmé Squalor, which caused both of them to turn to more dangerous activities; specifically, for Olaf, he fell under the influence of the Woman With Hair But No Beard and the Man With a Beard but No Hair.
It is mentioned that the organization had disintegrated by the time Beatrice Baudelaire II finds Lemony Snicket.
Notes on the V.F.D
Start from the beginning
