By D. Jack Alkire
The Pantagraph
CLINTON, Ill. — Celebrating a century and a half of protecting their community, the Clinton Fire Department held a day-long festival Saturday recognizing firefighters past and present and showing off some of their skills.
Retired firefighters, surviving family members and community support members from all around Clinton gathered in the downtown square along with restored antique fire trucks, food trucks and fire protection vendors.
In fact, Darren Barnhill, who retired in 2011 after 20 years with the CFD, traveled all the way from Branson, Missouri, to take part.
“You put any time in with a fire service, or anything that you volunteer on, obviously your heart and soul has been invested in it,” Barnhill said.
“And to see 150 years, to see the pictures over here of all the old equipment... That’s really impressive to me. I’m very glad that I was able to be a part of it,” he said.
The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal and the president of the Illinois Firefighters Association presented the fire department with plaques commemorating the anniversary.
“Anytime we have an event like this, we want to be a part of it because it is important for our office to recognize the sacrifice and the hard work these men and women have put in to develop this fire department into what it is today,” said Allen Reyne , deputy director of the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal .
Saturday’s event and turnout were a show of pride from firefighters and the community, Reyne said.
The fire department received a plaque from the Illinois Firefighters Association recognizing Clinton’s contributions as the first meeting place for the organization 135 years ago.
“There’s probably a lot of firefighters throughout the entire state that don’t know that the Illinois Firefighters Association started in Clinton, but it did,” said the association’s president, Terry Ford.
“And we’ve grown from the 12 or so people that came the first year to over 330 fire departments throughout the state that are in the association today,” he said.
Getting support from those two organizations is a big deal, said David Dallas, a member of the CFD and organizer of Saturday’s event.
“It was a little bit exciting, overwhelming, a little bit, but I’m happy they’re here,” Dallas said. “I mean, those are two big organizations that have to do with firefighting. And to have them here means a lot.”
Firefighters, in general, support each other across generations and organizations because of the unique culture in fire protection, said current CFD Chief Stephen Page .
“A lot of the fire service was built on history, tradition and that sort of stuff,” he said. “So it’s really something that all the firefighters really value.”
Firefighters are a special build of people, Ford said.
“It takes a certain person to be a firefighter, you know, and I think, really, it’s in your blood sometimes,” he said.
Anyone who puts on a firefighter coat and works to protect their community develops special bonds, Ford said.
“It’s a unique group of people that, you know — it’s a huge, huge family,” he said. “And it’s a family that goes out to protect other families. That’s what makes it great.”
Dallas was happy with the turnout despite the celebration coinciding with the Illinois State Fair opening this weekend, he said.
“I’m very happy about the weather we have... We’re going to have some fun with the events anyway,” Dallas said.
Firefighters planned to participate in a hose-rolling competition where they would be timed on how quickly they could roll different-sized fire hoses, Dallas said.
They also planned to have a “bunk drill” where they would simulate getting a call in the middle of the night, donning their equipment and hopping over obstacles, he said.
Saturday was to end with a concert by Rolling Stones cover band Voodoo Exiles, based in Champaign County , Dallas said.
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