Collinsburg VFD will hold open house May 16

By CHRISTINE HAINES

chaines@yourmvi.com

It’s been 45 years since the Collinsburg Volunteer Fire Department has hosted an open house, so residents may be a bit surprised by all the department has to offer.

An open house and touch-a-truck event is scheduled from noon until 4 p.m. May 16.

“We have done some remodeling in the past two to three years at our station and we acquired two new trucks,” firefighter Christina Altman said. “We want people to come and see the equipment we have.”

The department has grown in the past half century, acquiring both equipment and skills.

“We don’t just fight house fires,” Altman said. “We also do swiftwater rescue and forestry firefighting. We just acquired a new boat.”

The fire department has six pieces of apparatus: a tanker, a rescue pumper, a squad truck, a brush truck, a service truck and the new swiftwater boat. 

The department donated its old rescue truck to a fire department in the Dominican Republic.

Altman said there will be a lot of activity on the day of the open house.

“We’re actually going to have all of our trucks out and the kids will be able to climb on them, open the doors and get in the driver’s seat,” she said. “We’ll have fire safety handouts for the kids and sign-ups for the Red Cross blood drive we’re having in June.”

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