Eight local fire companies are participating in a weekend of activities, refreshments and fire hall and equipment tours in an effort to help attract more volunteers to the fire service.
Bill Schutt, an emergency management coordinator for Genesee County, encouraged people to attend the events even if their goal isn't to fight fires. There are lots of ways people can help their local departments.
"One of the first steps is to find out information about what your fire department does and what their needs are," Schutt said.
Departments need people on the administrative side, on the publicity side and on the social side, he said. All of those jobs help firefighters do their jobs better.
"(The open houses are) a great opportunity to talk about al of the different areas," Schutt said. "The fire service has changed so we’re not just the guys running to the burning building anymore. There is the EMS side, the social side, social media is a great need, general community involvement. There are a lot of areas in fire service that all could use some help."
Here's a list of open houses planned for Saturday and Sunday:
Bergen Fire Department
10 Hunter St., Bergen
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Chicken BBQ and Open House.Bethany Vol. Fire Department
5253 Old Telephone Road, East Bethany
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.Byron Fire Department
6357 E. Main St., Byron
Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Fire-related demonstrations; mutual aid exercises, plus blood pressure checks, truck tours and trying on gear.Darien Fire Company
10537 Alleghany Road, Darien Center
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Auto extrication demonstration, fire extinguisher demo station, and blood pressure checks.East Pembroke Fire Dept.
2623 Main Road, East Pembroke
Sunday, 9 a.m. to noonElba Fire Department
4 S. Main St., Elba
Sunday
Equipment displays and station tours.Stafford Fire Dept
6153 Main Road, Stafford
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.Town of Batavia Fire Dept.
8382 Lewiston Road
Batavia
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Refreshments, station and truck tours, auto extraction demonstration, lots of activities for the kids and much much more!
