More than 125 people turned out for the High Ridge Fire Protection District’s ninth annual Firehouse 5K for Autism on April 2, raising $2,500 for Easterseals Midwest, said Capt. John Barton.
“Autism awareness is something that our district cares about quite a bit, and Easterseals offers a lot of really important programs for families that have somebody on the autism spectrum,” he said. “I think it’s proof that our community supports us and is also eager to get involved to support causes that benefit people in general.”
Barton said he enjoyed the event.
“It was a great feeling all day long, just the amount of participation we got for the event, and it was great weather for racing,” he said. “We had some pretty impressive times from the first people coming across the finish line.”
In addition to the 5K, a 2-mile-walk was held, and both started at the district’s headquarters on High Ridge Boulevard.
The event hadn’t been held since 2019 because of COVID-19.
“I think for all of (High Ridge Fire), it was just the opportunity to have a public event again, to get the community up to the firehouse and to promote a good cause,” Barton said.
The first-place female finisher for the 5K was Samantha Mayer-Hernandez of Fenton, with a time of 21:40, and the first-place male finisher was James Pratt of Crystal City, at 18:59. The first responder who took first place in the 5K was Missouri State Highway Patrol Officer Cody Groves of Hillsboro, at 26:28.