EPC fire department plans March 7 breakfast

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Local fundraisers and community meals may have taken a backseat to the pandemic, but for organizations that rely on the revenue each year, they're moving forward in certain places.

Sunday, March 7, the East Perry County Rural Fire Department will host a breakfast at the Senior Citizens Hall at the East Perry County Fairgrounds on Church Street in Altenburg,

The fire department has held the breakfast since the 1980s.

The money raised helps with equipment and other items, according to East Perry Fire Association Chief Greg Unger.

"Not very long ago we upgraded one of our trucks at Farrar," Unger said. "We got a newer pumper for back there. It's exciting because we've been looking for a long time for the right truck, and I think we've found it."

Unger pointed out it's not brand new, the pumper is an early 2000s model from a department in central Illinois.

The district's coverage area includes the communities of Crosstown, Farrar, Frohna, Altenburg. In addition, the area encompasses portions of Highway U, Highway D, Highway A, Highway C and Highway Y, south to U.S. Highway 61 and adjacent county roads.

"The cities have their own departments and we have ours, and between us, we probably have 25 personnel, not all as active as others," Unger said. "We could also use more."

The department responded to close to 70 calls in 2020, mostly medical, Unger said.

They are involved in search and rescue operations. Recently, the department responded to a propane truck which into the ditch for standby.

"We had to wait around, just in case something happened," Unger said. "Your medical emergency stuff, basically."

Training can be done both at the fire station as well as out in the field, according to Unger.

"We try to do some training in house, watch some videos and that kind of stuff," he said. "It depends on the weather. We'd much rather be able to get out and practice with the trucks because that's a lot more interesting. We've got to try to keep up with the training."

The department receives revenue from homeowners' tag fees, and uses a couple of fundraisers to offset that, according to Unger.

"We get tag fees from our tag holders , plus the money we raise from this," Unger said. "We have another fundraising in conjunction with Hemmann Winery that raises funds for the firefighters and the medical staff. It all goes toward upgrading equipment and getting what we need. Anything that's designated for fire service is a lot more expensive. You could probably buy something similar out in the public that doesn't cost near as much. You put the designation it's for firefighting, it adds to the cost."

The newer pumper housed in Farrar replaces a 1978 model.