Fun, Food and Fire Trucks: Mt. Kisco Fire Dept. Reaches Out to Public
Last November, Mount Kisco residents approved a more than $10 million bond resolution to refurbish and modernize the village’s three firehouses.
Now, the Mount Kisco Volunteer Fire Department plans to show its gratitude to the community, interact more with residents and merchants and hopefully raise some more funds in the process.
Over the next several months, members of the department’s four companies will be participating in community events that have also been scheduled in conjunction with the department’s 140th anniversary, according to Maury Rosen and Jon Bruno, two fire department members who along with their brethren have been devising ways to socialize more with the public.
The first event, the annual fire department parade, is this Friday evening at 7 p.m. For the first time, the department will be selling its 140th anniversary t-shirts in front of the Green Street firehouse. They come in three colors – dark blue, pink and red – and range in size from small to XXXL.
“We decided, Maury and I and our committee, we decided, okay, let’s do shirts, we’ll sell them at our parade we have coming up,” Bruno said. “A lot of departments do it. It’s $20 a shirt. It’s making a little donation to the fire department.”
While the parade has been a regular fixture on the summer calendar, a couple of the other events the department has scheduled are new.
On Saturday, Aug. 26, firefighters are partnering with Siegel Bros. Marketplace for a Touch-a-Truck event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that will include a barbecue, and the public is invited. Throughout the day, 15 percent of all food and wine sales will be donated to the department. In addition, during the week of Aug. 27, Siegel Bros. will donate 15 percent of all sales from flyers or coupons.
Firefighters will set up shop in the parking lot in front of the stores with some of the apparatus so the public, including children, can check out the trucks.
The weekend of the village’s new SeptemberFest (formerly Sidewalk Sales Days) from Sept. 14-16, will be another important time for the department. It will be one of the many organizations and businesses that will have a table enabling residents to meet and greet members, participate in a 50/50 cash raffle and sign up to win a restaurant gift certificate raffle.
In the late afternoon on Sept. 15, there will be a softball game pitting the department against members or the county Department of Emergency Services, which has provided Mount Kisco with its police coverage since 2015.
Finally, on Oct. 14, the department will hold its annual open house to coincide with Fire Prevention Week. There will be fire truck rides, presentations, food and activities for children. It hasn’t been decided which firehouse will host the open house, Bruno said.
At all of these events, firefighters will be selling their t-shirts.
“Our goal in all of this is to bring the community and the department together,” Rosen said.
Along with these community events, firefighters will once again welcome campers from the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester for a visit to the Green Street firehouse on July 26.
“The Mount Kisco community did something very nice for the fire department by approving the (bond) for the new buildings,” Bruno said. “So, we’ve decided in the last year, you know what? I’ve just come out as captain and I said we need to do something. Let’s get a committee going and start building something for the community now. They did for us, let’s do back for them.”
Rosen said the fire department is always looking for volunteers to join the ranks. If a Mount Kisco resident is interested in serving the community, they are encouraged to visit any of the village’s three firehouses.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
