The Weesaw Township Fire Department is celebrating 75 years this year with a special event on August 15.
Weesaw Township Fire Captain Jeff Starbuck tells us the staff have searched high and low, reading all sorts of local historical documents, but they can’t figure out just who started the department. But they do know it started in 1951, 75 years ago. Today, the Weesaw Township Fire Department offers a full range of services and handles around 75 to 125 calls per year.
“Currently right now we have 16 firefighters,” Starbuck said. “They are all trained to level firefighter one and two. We have some of the newest apparatus around.”
Starbuck says the department not only serves Weesaw Township, but surrounding townships and even into Indiana. He shared good news just received this week, telling us the department has been awarded a $30,000 grant by the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation to purchase 15 new radios.
“It’s a great sigh of relief knowing that we’re going to be able to enhance the firefighter safety and the fire ground by having reliable updated equipment.”
Starbuck says the Berrien Community Foundation has also awarded the department $7,000 for that equipment.
Meanwhile, the 75th anniversary celebration will be August 15 with a pancake breakfast from 9 a.m. to noon at the fire station in New Troy. Then they’ll have a car show from 10 to 4 all over downtown New Troy. Everyone’s invited and Starbuck says money raised will go toward future fire department purchases.
