- Eaton Rapids Fire Department preparing to celebrate 150 years.
- I caught up with the fire chief, who has been here for more than 40 years
- Watch the video above to learn about the 150-year celebration
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Copy and paste the transcript here.
The Eaton Rapids Fire Department is getting ready to celebrate 150 years as a department later this month. I caught up with the fire chief, who's been here for more than 40 of those years. He's showing me some of the biggest challenges his firefighters have faced in recent history.
Meet Eaton Rapids fire chief Roger McNutt.
"It's a rich history of people volunteering their time to protect the community," Eaton Rapids Fire Chief Roger McNutt said.
He joined the fire department in 1979, and in 1999, he got the opportunity of a lifetime as fire chief. But that came with scenes he can't forget.
"A car accident where there were some deaths in it, and it was before we had our hydraulic tools, we had chains and stuff like that, they run into a tree and flip the car up on its side and crushed the roof down on them, and we had to use our chains to get them out," Eaton Rapids Fire Chief Roger Mcnutt said.
Memories from decades of service. And the overall history of the department will soon be remembered. The 150th anniversary will be later this month.
On September 28th a fire truck parade is planned as part of the celebration, a 5k fun run/walk that starts and finishes on the island. A proclamation is expected to be given to the department by State Representative Angela Witwer. As for Roger, he is grateful for the many years here, and he doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon.
"We don't want accolades or rewards for it; we just do it," Eaton Rapids Fire Chief Roger Mcnutt said.
"I'm just thankful I'm able to," Eaton Rapids Fire Chief Roger Mcnutt said.
Roger tells me it's a true milestone to celebrate 150 years.
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