York Town News
90 years and still going strong
By Jennifer L. Saunders
Members of the York Fire Department wave to residents and visitors alike who gathered to watch the 90th Annual Firemen's Field Day Parade and Muster last weekend.
Photo by Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK VILLAGE - Under a cloudy sky, firefighters from across New England joined the York Fire Department for its 90th Annual Firemen's Field Day Parade and Muster on Aug. 19.
And while the numbers were not as high as musters saw in the first half of the century - or event two or three decades ago - organizers confirmed that this year's event saw an increase in participation.
"We had 32 trucks in the parade, which is very good," said York Volunteer Firefighter and EMT Brian Starkey of the parade, which drew a crowd to line York Street through the village that Saturday at noon. "It's better than most years."
Starkey said the same staffing concerns tend to stretch most volunteer departments thin when it comes to events like this. That, and familial and job obligations, kept the number of teams participating in the muster contests themselves to four departments: the Red Shirts from York Harbor, as well as firefighter teams from Milton N.H., Kittery and York Beach.
"The Field Day muster went very well," Starkey said. "We had four teams, but all four teams had fun. Everybody got a couple of trophies, so it was good."
York Fire Chief Chris Balentine agreed, confirming it was also a busy day for emergency calls in and around town, as has been the nature of the York Fire Department's work this summer.
The firefighters competed in dry hose and wet house events as well as ladder climbing.
"There was a fairly large number of spectators this year," Starkey said of the field day events, held at Harmon Park in York Harbor.
Remembering his childhood, Starkey said participation used to be much higher, but that has dampened the enthusiasm of those who continue to take part in the events or come to watch them.
"From York Harbor all the way to the school was lined with people," he said of the musters he witnessed as a child in York, with parades including up to 100 fire trucks and 20 to 25 teams taking part in the muster itself.
This year, most of the trophies awarded were fund through a donation by First Responder Wireless News, a pager service that connects such personnel as volunteer firefighters and EMTs with the accidents and fires happening in cities and towns around their communities.
Starkey, Balentine and other firefighters said they wanted to thank the community for coming out to support the event.
And when it comes to the 91st Firemen's Field Day Parade and Muster in 2007?
"We're already talking about next year," Starkey said.
