Pork Loins at LPC Fire Station Saturday Night
Food, Tours, and Fun for the Community
The La Porte City Fire Department is hosting a Pork Loin Dinner Fundraiser on Saturday, May 9th from 5-8pm. There is no cost for the dinner, free-will donations are accepted. Besides just a meal, you your family can meet the volunteer firefighters and EMTs, explore an ambulance and fire truck, and tour the fire station facility. And, there will be opportunities to win some great raffle prizes. I won't spoil the surprise, but I got a sneak peak of the raffle prizes, and they are pretty cool. Some of the prizes are aimed at kids, while others are more grown-up oriented.
One thing that Firefighter Ron impressed upon me was not just the financial need, but also the volunteer need. He said that even if you only have four hours a week to give, that is a huge help as "many hands make light work." They aren't looking for superstars to live at the station and put out every fire, but they do need people who can help EMT's move stretchers, roll out hoses at a fire, and help pack up when the work is done.
I did ask about full time EMTs vs an all volunteer staff - that cost is tremendous, about $100,000 per person when accounting for labor cost, benefits, IPERS, and other costs associated with full time employment. Plus, that one person would still be waiting on a volunteer to go with them on every call. One person can't load a person onto a stretcher and then get the stretcher into the ambulance.
Be sure to stop out the La Porte City Fire Department this Saturday evening. It will be a great time for the community and help fund one of our core needs: equipping and training our local heroes.