Saturday July 25th brought a great parade, followed by a brief shower and then water wars with nine teams representing six area fire departments.

Teams from Almond (2), Plover (2), Hancock (2), Iola, Bancroft, and Sherry competed in the 2009 Almond Tater Toot Wars.  You can find pictures of the event in our Photo Gallery.

In the end, Almond-Team 1 took first place, Plover-Team 1 took second, and Hancock-Team 1 took third.  A good time was had by all competing and also the spectators at the event.  The brief showers that would roll through wasn't the only thing getting spectators wet, however.

Thanks to all the teams who traveled to compete.  Also, a big thank you to all those who volunteered and helped during the event.  As with any event, a lot of planning and folks to run the event are needed, and those that helped this year deserve a big thanks!

Hope to see you all next year!

The July training consisted of pump training, drafting and hose/nozzle work.  Firefighters learned, practiced and honed their skills at running Engine 5's pump, as well as tested and utilized the new tank draft device to draft water from one dump tank to another.

The tank draft device allows for two dump tanks to be deployed at a fire scene, providing for more water at the scene.  This gives the pump operator(s) more flexibility in providing water at appropriate pressures when multiple hose lines and sizes of hose lines are in use.

Firefighters worked on nozzle skills and hose management while having some fun practicing water wars.

The July meeting followed training.