On December 14, our station and members were pleased to join Bikers for Cause MD Chapter and Babylon Vault to place wreaths on our veterans graves at Meadow Branch Cemetery.

In honor of our 200th anniversary, Westminster Fire Department was pleased to welcome the Executive Committee of the MSFA for their December quarterly meeting which was held at John Street Quarters (Westminster’s Event Center). A social hour was held on Friday, December 1st during the evening hours in our museum. The meetings were then held on Saturday and Sunday in JSQ. You can see other photos at this link.

In honor of our 200th Anniversary year, our two hose carts were transported to Ocean City Maryland for the 131st Convention and Conference of the MSFA (Maryland State Firemens Association. The carts were on display in the main ballroom of the Ocean City Convention Center. Transportation was donated by member Bill Brehm. This is just one of the many events that are being featured during 2023 in honor of the 200th year of the department.

This year, we have added a selection of Baskets that will be raffled off in separately purchased tickets. For these items, you must be present to win. Raffle tickets will be sold throughout the evening and the winners will be drawn at the end of the evening.

Coffee basket $200 value
Golf basket $350 value
Wine basket $250 value
Local restaurant basket $350 value
Brewery basket $300 value
Blackston griddle package $400 value
Yeti cooler package $500 value

This years winners:

1^st – Yvonne G; 2^nd – Rex S; 3^rd – Michael G; 4^th – Brady Z; 5^th – Hughes T; 6^th – BJ H; 7^th – Dawn R; 8^th – Brandon H; 9^th – Barbara R; 10^th – Lynn S; 11^th – Natalie K; 12^th – Blaine F; 13^th – Tim C; 14^th – John P

Thank you to all who supported our annual event.

This year will feature updated refreshments and a live band.

The Westminster Fire Department is hosting our annual Big Money Raffle event Thursday, May 25^th, 2023, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Station 3 at 28 John Street will open its doors to offer our community an opportunity to have dinner, play games, win raffle prizes, meet local firefighters, listen to a band, and overall have a fantastic time with family. 

This year we are celebrating our 200^th year anniversary! Our Big Money Drawing has 14 opportunities to win cash prizes with the top prize of $10,000.00! We have multiple corporate sponsors to thank in aiding to make this event worthwhile. Without the help of our community and volunteers we couldn’t make this event as grand as it’s going to be.

Westminster Fire Department truly hopes you will come and be a part of this festivity. We welcome you with open arms and are grateful to have the opportunity to serve others.

New for this year:

1) 39 North Band
2) New to menu: Broccoli salad; Brats; Hot Dog
3) New Raffle baskets: 
Coffee basket: Keurig, assorted coffees, flavored syrups, gift card to American Ice Cafe with merchandise
Golf basket: Round of golf, cart rental, merchandise
Restaurant gift card basket: Paradisios, Stables, Rafs, Mission BBQ with merchandise, Lost Lion, Maryland Mallet
Brewery Basket: Pub Dog, Flood Zone and Fry’s
Wine basket: assorted wines
Party Cooler: Ozark cooler filled with drinks, coozies, can/beer opener
Grill basket: Flat top grill with bbq items, (sauces, cookware)
Kids basket: filled with games and toys for children

In early January 2023, the Westminster Fire Department was contacted by the family of a past fire department member. The family of Frank B. Dillard was interested in learning the department’s history when he served. They had several artifacts showing that he was active in his time. After some research, Historian Jeffrey Ausherman found much information for the family. Historian Ausherman forwarded this to the family, who were excited to see how active he was. 

Frank B. Dillard was elected to membership in January 1914 and served until August 1938. He served proudly as President from 1925-1926. He also held the titles of First Vice President, Second Vice President, and Assistant Marshall. He was also very active in attending the County and State Conventions most of those years. 

Mr. Dillard served on the committee that purchased our 1924 American LaFrance City Service ladder truck, which remains in our museum today. He was assigned as a Ladderman, according to a booklet the family shared with Historian Ausherman. Mr. Dillard served our department when we purchased our first motorized fire truck, transitioning from using hand-pulled hose carts, which are still on display in our museum today.

On March 4, 2023, Historian Ausherman invited the family to tour The Historical Museum of the Westminster Fire Department. The family was very grateful for all our work and the great information they could obtain about their family member. Too much enjoyment for the family; they were able to see the equipment their grandfather was involved in purchasing and operated when he was a member. President Daniel Plunkert, Assistant Historian Jeffrey Alexander, and Member Bryan VanFossen assisted with the tour.

The family was kind enough to donate a few items to The Historical Museum of the Westminster Fire Department, pictured below. We are fortunate to receive such fine items for our museum. We humbly thank the Blizzard, Houseman, and Ratte families for their visit and thoughtful donation. After the visit, we presented the families with our new 200^th Anniversary Challenge coins.