Joseph Fire Department hauls in funds for rescue truck
Published 7:00 am Wednesday, March 22, 2023
- A donated photo was a hot item at the Joseph Fire Department's benefit and auction at the Thunder Room, 405 W. Wallowa Ave., Joseph on March, 18, 2023. The panting, by artist John Michener, sold for over $500.
JOSEPH — About 100 community members came out in force to support the Joseph Volunteer Fire Department’s benefit dinner and auction Saturday, March 18.
Items including artwork, fishing gear, a camp stove and a generator were auctioned off, and organizers deemed the night a success.
The department raised $13,863 to help cover the cost of a dedicated emergency medical service vehicle.
Volunteer Robin Kearns said she was thankful to see the outflow of support from the community.
“We would like to thank the people who donated the items and Z’s BBQ and the Stubborn Mule for supplying food and drinks,” she said.
Kearns said lessons learned from the event will help the department put on similar fundraisers.
“We need to settle in on a date and kind of make it a tradition,” she said. “There are a lot of people who don’t know about our volunteer firefighters; we tend to be invisible until people need us, and then we become very visible.”
Kearns said events such as the benefit dinner and auction promote awareness of what the department does.
The volunteers meet every Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Joseph Fire Department, across from the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo Grounds, to train. People are welcome to stop by and show their support.
Joseph Fire Chief Jeffrey Wecks thinks the dinner and auction was a success, despite his initial jitters.
“We did way better than I thought we would. It’s always a little nerve-racking to have an event like this, but I think the community proved that they are there to support us,” he said. “We appreciate all the donors and all of the support we got.”
The department is looking for a suburban or Tahoe-type vehicle that has space for large EMS response. The estimated cost is $45,000 to purchase a used, fully outfitted rescue vehicle. Recently the city of Joseph allocated $25,000 toward the purchase of the vehicle.
People interested in making a donation to Joseph Fire and Rescue can send a check to Friends of the Joseph Fire Fighters, P.O. Box 15, Joseph, OR 97846.
For more information about the department and the items that were auctioned off, visit its Facebook page.
