Mandan Rural Firefighters Celebrate 50 Years | Video

Michelle San Miguel | 7/8/2012

Finding people to staff a volunteer fire department is no easy task. For 50 years the Mandan Rural Fire Department has been able to do it .

On Sunday, the department celebrated five decades of a completely volunteer service. Firefighters with the department, as well as those who work for nearby departments, were invited to Sunday`s celebration at the station.

Lynn Gustin, the chief of the department, says when the station started in 1962 it had between 40 to 50 members. These days it`s staffed with about 30.

"It`s just tough to keep volunteers and the time they put into it. Everybody`s got a busier schedule."

Gustin says he`d like to bring on another ten volunteers, but he says thanks to better technology the department doesn`t usually need the amount of people it used to.

COMMENT ON THIS STORY