The Cedar Hill Fire Protection District will hold open houses at each of its three stations on Saturday, April 5, to celebrate its 75th anniversary.
Capt. Chris Guse said the public is invited to the open houses from noon to 4 p.m., when people may tour the stations, check out some of the district’s vehicles and take part in children’s activities.
Attendees are encouraged to visit all three stations during the event, he said. Station 1 is at 6766 Cedar Hill Road in Cedar Hill; Station 2 is at 8800 Hwy. 30 in Dittmer; and Station 3 is at 8790 Byrnesville Road in Cedar Hill.
“We’re going to have a passport book with different questions and little activities for the kids,” Guse said. “At each engine house, we’re going to stamp it for them. If they make it to all three engine houses that day, we’ve got a little gift for them.”
The gift is a token with the district’s 75th-anniversary logo on it, he said. Each station will have a different activity geared toward children. Station 1 will have a water hose station, where participants can attempt to hit a cone target. Station 2 will have firefighter gear available to try on.
Station 3 will have an inflatable “safe house” set up, Guse said, which allows firefighters to demonstrate aspects of fire safety, like how to use smoke detectors or create an escape plan.
Off-duty personnel will be on hand to guide attendees through tours, he said.
“We have off-duty personnel coming in who will be at the engine houses, so if the on-duty crews do have calls, we still have people there,” he said. “I’m very excited. We want to show the public what we’ve done and what we’ve accomplished over the last 75 years as a fire protection district.”
Guse said a special 75th-anniversary committee, including firefighters and auxiliary members was formed to organize the open houses.
He said the district’s bond issue, called Proposition Fire, is not related to the open houses.
Prop Fire, an $11.6 million bond issue, will appear on the April 8 ballot. The issue will require a four-sevenths majority for passage. The bond issue will require a tax increase of 29 cents per $100 assessed valuation. If approved, revenue from the bond issue will be used to improve the district’s existing buildings, provide more training opportunities, hire more firefighters and upgrade outdated equipment, Chief Mick Fischer said. (See related story in the Voters Guide here).
“This was planned before the bond issue was determined, or before the board decided to run the bond issue, but with the information being out there and us going for the bond, we will have off-duty personnel there who are able to talk to anyone who has questions about the bond issue,” Guse said.
The committee is also organizing a community picnic to be held at the Big River VFW Post 5331 in September to celebrate the 75th anniversary, Guse said. More details will be made available closer to the event.
For more information about the open houses, call 636-285-3345.