Monee Fire Protection District’s open house this weekend will feature station tours, demonstrations, and free hot dogs and popcorn.
The event will take place on Saturday, October 12, at the Monee fire station, 5500 W. Main Street, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Fire safety open houses have been on hold there for the past few years.
“This year the open house was brought back as part of the village’s 150th year anniversary,” Captain Mark Seliga said. “We are excited for everyone to see our equipment and capabilities and have a little family fun.
“We will have station tours, at noon and 2 p.m. We will be having tower demos so people can see the true purpose and reach of a 100-foot tower ladder.
“We also will have our other apparatus on display, as available. Chief Carl Nieland and I will be available to answer any questions.
“Hot dogs and popcorn will be available along with Nicor or dispatch and J.U.L.I.E., as in the underground utility locating services. We also will have a house where kids can try and put out a fake fire using a gated-down 1-3/4 line.”
Seliga also explained why the 140-year-old fire department’s annual turkey raffle has been missing. The event was always a crowd-pleaser and many area residents have questioned why it was dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As you can imagine, we now run more calls than we did before the pandemic,” he said. “We are also no longer a volunteer department, as with the increase in calls and complexity of the district we have had to grow ourselves.
“Many people do not know, but as a district we not only serve the community of Monee, but we service 36 square miles. This includes an airport, an air park, two Amazon facilities, miles of expressway, and rural roadway. So we are much larger than Monee Village.
“That being said,” he added, “we are exploring options to include other entities in bringing this back.”