FAIRGROUNDS Firefighters rekindle field day

Any local resident can compete at the event.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- A group of Canfield and Austintown firefighters is preparing to revive a local tradition and help the families and friends of firefighters who died in the line of duty.
On Saturday, they'll hold the first Firefighters' Field Day in this area in at least a decade. The event at the Canfield Fairgrounds will include firefighter competitions, safety demonstrations and a memorial service for deceased firefighters. Gates will open for firefighters at 8 a.m. and for the public at 9 a.m.
Events begin at 1 p.m., and admission is free. The event is sponsored by the Canfield and Austintown fire departments.
Donations collected at the event will benefit the National Fallen Firefighters' Foundation, which sponsors programs to honor deceased firefighters and help their families and friends.
What to expect
Austintown firefighter John Fritz said local residents will be able "to come out, see the equipment they pay for, and meet the guys." He added that the goal of the event is to raise awareness about fire safety, as well as firefighters, their duties and the dangers they face.
The Mahoning Valley Firefighters' Association held similar field days in the past at the Youngstown Air Reserve Base in Vienna, and as many as 100 firefighters attended and competed. Vindicator archives show the association's field days were held annually until the early 1980s.
Local firefighters said they weren't sure why the field day was discontinued.
Fritz noted that the competitions at Saturday's field day will be open to all local residents, not just firefighters. The competitions will include a tug-of-war and a bucket brigade race.
"We wanted to make it simple so everyone could do it," Fritz said.
He said he and other firefighters first discussed holding the event last year while he was walking from Austintown to Cleveland in his firefighting gear to raise money for Rainbow Babies & amp; Children's Hospital in Cleveland and the Tri-County Spina Bifida Association. Fritz raised a total of $5,700.
Fritz said while the firefighters hope to make the field day an annual event, "we'll see how the first one goes."
hill@vindy.com