Lemay Fire Celebrates 100 Years, Promotes Lieutenant

Firefighters in Lemay have been protecting residents for the last 100 years and celebrated their centennial at the district's annual Open House.

The Lemay Fire Protection District (LFPD) originally began as the Bismark Heights Fire Department in 1911 and was located on Lemay Ferry and Little Broadway roads.

In 1942, the district was renamed as the Lemay Fire Protection District and moved to its present location at 1201 Telegraph Road.

Lemay Fire operates under Chief Neil Svetanics and consists of three crews of seven men. Each crew mans a rescue truck, a pumper with four firefighter/paramedics and one ambulance with two firefighter/paramedics.

LFPD celebrated its 100th anniversary with more than 500 members of the community at their annual Open House and Safety Fair on Oct. 8. October is Fire Safety Month and the firefighters spread safety tips and advised residents on how to protect their homes should a fire occur. Demonstrations from the district's smoke and sprinkler houses showed children what to do in case of a fire and the apparatus was on display to give attendees a close-up look at firefighting equipment.

At the open house, Lemay Fire Protection District provided more than 260 free flu vaccines to the public and handed out and fitted more than 138 bike helmets for kids with the help of St. Anthony’s Medical Center nurses. Residents can also schedule appointments to have the fire district install smoke detectors in their homes. Lemay Fire installs more than 300 smoke detectors annually at the request of residents for no cost.

The district has also recently promoted Lt. Brian Heidbreder to the position of Captain. Working in Lemay since April 1995, Heidbreder was sworn in as Captain on Oct. 18.