The Dauphin Firefighter's Association annual Dauphin Firefighters Ball is set to get underway tonight, raising funds for some important projects.
Cam Abrey, Dauphin's Fire Chief, said the funds raised from the ball usually go to helping restore some of their old equipment, as a way to preserve the department's history, and make sure future generations can appreciate the department's past.
"Each year, anything that's raised from the Firefighters Ball goes to support our restoration of the antique fire trucks, so that we can preserve the history of the fire department...the current project is our 1919, which was Dauphin's very first motorized fire apparatus, and we're doing a ground up restoration on that, and we're approaching the end of that," said Abrey.
On the subject of history, Dauphin's fire department has a very storied one - looking back at their records, which Abrey said he's glad to still have, the Dauphin Firefighters Ball has been going on officially since 1901, and there were only three times when the ball couldn't be held. It's the longest ongoing Firefighters Ball in Manitoba.
"There's a long line of traditions and pride that people have given back to their communities, and we want to honour their memories...the very first ball was March 17th of 1901, and looking back in our history records, and we're fortunate enough to have those, there were three times when it didn't happen that we know of, and one of them was during World War I, and twice during World War II," said Abrey.
The event is sold out, meaning the Dauphin Fire Department will raise a lot of funds to help with their restoration projects. Abrey said if you still want to get involved and help out, keep an eye on their Facebook page for details about their upcoming Pack the Pumper Food Bank Drive.
