Poy Sippi Fire Department celebrates 75 years
The Poy Sippi Fire Department will celebrate 75 years of service on Saturday July 28.
The celebration will include a parade at 1 p.m. on Main Street.
All are invited to participate. Parade entries will line up at noon.
Following the parade, there will be the "Railroad Ron and Bob Variety Show" at Poy Sippi Park.
There will be music, food and refreshments throughout the afternoon.
The band "Power Play" will play from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Admission is free.
Fire Chief Tom Marini said the department enjoyed joining in the anniversaries of other area fire departments and looks forward to its celebration.
"We can't do it alone. We get along well with neighboring departments," he said.
The Poy Sippi Fire Department formed before there were departments in Saxeville, West Bloomfield or Tustin, Marini said.
"One neat part of our history," Marini said, "is that we had the first ambulance in Waushara County. It started back in the 1960s. In the late 1970s, the Waushara County Ambulance formed."
In 2007, the Tustin Fire Department joined the Poy Sippi Fire Department.
"We operate two stations but are all under one department," the fire chief said.
Marini joined the department in 1974 after moving to the area for his job.
It was his boss who recommended that he join the fire department as a way to meet people.
Marini, who has been the department's chief for the past 31 years, found that to be true.
Since the department began, it has had six chiefs. Marini will be joined by formed chief "Tuffy" Kempf in the parade. Kempf served as chief in the 1960s.
Marini said it takes a big commitment to be a member of the non profit.
Members are not paid; the department believes in putting money into equipment.
The department has close to 60 members. With the membership getting older, the chief says there is a need for more 20 and 30 year olds to join.
"The townships hire us to put out all their fires," he said. "When we started, it was just fires. We had 158 First Responder calls last year and are ahead of that for this year."
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