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CITY OF 1WG0 EST. 1906 COMMUNITY NEWS, INFORMATION AND EVENTS Letter from the Mayor I recently had someone ask, "How many full-time firefighters does the City of Hugo have?" The answer is none. The Hugo Fire Department is completely made up of volunteer members. Of course our members still get compensated for the work they do, but there are no full-time staff members. This means that the 22 men and women who serve on the department do so voluntarily. They are often pulled away from family time, work, or sleep whenever their pager goes off. As Chief Jim Compton Jr. would say, "there's never a good time for a fire." On top of responding to fire calls, members have � weekly drill training that keeps them up to date on (( , the necessary skills needed to operate their l a m continually v equipment and respond to emergency calls effi- ciently and effectively. There are also administrative positions that designate specific responsibilities for blown awaybymaintaining the day-to-day functions required to operate the Fire Department. This includes positions like the Fire Chief and Fire Marshal, just to name a the work our Fire few. Our firefighters are engaged with the community and are often at city events, school programs, neigh- " ' borhood gatherings, or business functions. The City 00paltment does of Hugo is very fortunate to have such a dedicated &y group of firefighters protecting our city. The department was started in 1908 by local Hugo businessmen who wanted to protect their property. They had minimal equipment and used a pressurized hose apparatus that was set on wooden wheels and pulled by horses. Today the department has several trucks, the newest of which being the ladder truck purchased in 2019. A strong, well equipped Fire Department lets Hugo be a good neighbor to its surrounding communities. Our department has mutual aid agree- ments with the neighboring fire departments, allowing Hugo and the neighboring departments to work together and respond to calls outside of their respective city boundaries. These agree- ments are extremely beneficial to the Hugo residents, especially in the rural areas where water isn't accessible by hydrants and needs to be trucked to the site. I am continually blown away by the work our Fire Department does and encourage residents to stop by the Fire Department Open House on Saturday, October 2nd from 11 am to 3pm. The event will be held at the Hugo Fire Hall and is a great opportunity to see the equipment up close. Check them out and thank them for keeping Hugo a safe place live! Tom Weidt, Mayor 4��