Missouri Valley’s 151st Fireman’s Ball set for Feb. 21
Event will recognize volunteers, celebrate accomplishments
BY ISABELLE FOLAND
For the Harrison County Times-Reporter
A year after a big milestone celebration, the Missouri Valley Fire Department is hosting its annual Fireman’s Ball with even more to celebrate.
This year’s ball is the 151st, and it will feature a live auction, a silent auction, a raffle, and a dinner that starts Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Rand Community Center. While the event is free to attend, the Loess Moose-catered dinner is $20 per person, and raffle tickets are $10 each.
Attendees who enter into the raffle have the chance to win an Anderson AR and a $50 gift card for first place, a $500 package from Pitt Family Farms for second place, and a spa package from The WOW Center for third place. More information can be found on the Missouri Valley Fire Department’s Facebook page.
The purpose behind the event is to bridge the connection between the volunteer fire department and the community members they serve, Fire Chief Angel Smiley said.
“Some of these people in the department have lived here their whole lives, but they may not know everybody in town,” Smiley said.
In addition to community building, the ball also serves to honor the department’s members, with awards such as firefighter of the year, EMT of the year, rookie of the year, and career milestone markers like 5, 10 and 30 years of service.
In the past year, the fire department has had lots to celebrate. Last September, the department welcomed a new ambulance to its facilities, which has helped the department operate more smoothly.
And perhaps the most exciting development in the past year is the opening of the new fire hall, which is set to be finished in the next few weeks, Smiley said.
“There’s just a couple small punch list items that they got to finish up, but we’re so close,” Smiley said.
The new fire hall will help the department store all of its equipment in one place — something that Smiley says the department has been looking forward to the most. Currently, the MVFD stores its equipment in various locations around the city. The new hall will also feature better heating and water filling stations.
Recently, the department was able to use the new facility to do limited visibility training using fog machines to simulate a smoke-filled environment, Smiley said.
Smiley said she and the rest of the department are grateful for all the community support that allows for these developments to come to fruition.
“We just want to thank everybody for the donations, support, and everything that involves the fire department and the ball coming up,” Smiley said.
