Grateful church plans fund-raiser for HFD

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN CYNTHIA MARTENS
The ashes are long gone, the church grounds now empty, but the hearts of the parishioners still burn brightly.

Members of Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church have organized a breakfast fund-raiser Sept. 11 to thank the volunteer firefighters who risked their lives fighting the devastating fire that destroyed their church building in March.

Funds will go into a Hillsboro Fire Department fund toward the purchase of a thermal-imaging camera, a valuable piece of fire-fighting equipment that will cost about $15,000.

“It’s something I feel very strongly we need here in the community because it’s not going to get any cheaper to purchase it,” said Sheryl Lehr, one of the organizers.

“And the community is going to grow, maybe slowly. But the more people we have, the greater are the odds for needing something like this.”

But the reasons church members, such as Lehr and Janice Porter, organized the fund-raiser go much deeper than a camera and a heart-felt thank you.

“I think our church also wants to send the message that we care about our community, and we want to work for the betterment of the community,” Porter said.

The catalyst to have a fund-raiser was the result of a casual conversation in June between the two friends.

“I really got the idea from something that was done in the town I moved here from in Oregon,” Lehr said.

“The department there is a separate district, and they do fund-raisers a couple of times a year. They had done one for a thermal-imaging camera.”

Porter talked to husband Bruce Porter, the church pastor, and she remembers his response: “Go for it.”

The next step was to ask for other church members to help organize the event and plan a date in September-a time when summer vacations are over and prior to the Hillsboro Arts & Crafts Fair.

“Janice said she knew some ladies who could help with it,” Lehr said. “She said they are great, and they will get the job done. So we went from there.”

The committee members include Lehr, Porter, Evelyn Regier, Brenda Brown, Marlene Kroeker, Fran Rhodes and Charlene Driggers.

The fund-raiser date coincides with an infamous date in history, Sept. 11, 2001. It was a time when the world’s heartbeat was one and forever marks a day to honor policemen, emergency personnel and firefighters.

“We didn’t plan it for that date,” Lehr said about the coincidence. “It’s just what worked best. That was neat.”

The breakfast is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Hillsboro City Building, which houses the fire department.

“One of the reasons we wanted to hold it at the fire department was to help raise the profile of the department, so people know where it is and what they did,” Lehr said.

Porter said, “And the kids can see the fire trucks up close, too.”

The menu includes ham, scrambled eggs, pancakes and a variety of drinks, such as juice, coffee and milk. Servers will include church members and volunteer firefighters.

Merchants and restaurants in Hillsboro have donated supplies for the breakfast. A poster listing individual donors will be on display, asking the community to support its local merchants.

Contributions will be received during the breakfast, and the committee is asking patrons to donate whatever they can to help thank the firefighters and help buy the camera.

“There’s no way this will cover the expenses of the thermal-imaging camera,” Lehr said. “But we’re not going to be taking a lot of money out to pay for the supplies because we’ve had donations. We would love to have more money come in for the camera.”

For those unable to attend the breakfast, Hillsboro Fire Chief Ben Steketee said they can contact him regarding the fund.

“We have a separate account, and they can make a check out to the Hillsboro Fire Department Thermal Imaging Fund,” Steketee said.

“All of the fund-raisers we do, including the food we cook for the Hillsboro Arts and Crafts Fair, a portion goes to the thermal-imaging fund.”

Organizers are planning for about 300 to attend the breakfast. During the morning, the Hillsboro Fire Department will receive an insurance check.

“The church insurance actually had a clause that pays a fire department for working on the fire,” Porter said. “We thought it would be fun to present it that morning.”

All volunteer firefighters who helped fight the church fire are also invited to attend the breakfast and get a free meal.

Steketee said a thermal-imaging camera would have been useful at the church fire, but it probably wouldn’t have changed the outcome.

“It would have been a tool that we would have definitely used,” he said. “It would have aided us in locating the seed of the fire at the church.The seed is the hot spot-where it’s burning the hottest. So when you can attack the seed of the fire, you’ve got the majority knocked down, and the rest is just mop up.”

When the department eventually purchases the camera, it will also help locate victims trapped inside a burning or smoke-filled building.

“It sees right through the smoke,” Steketee said. “It makes finding victims in a smoke-filled environment 100 percent easier than trying to do it the way we’re trained to do it-by sweeping and searching.”

A benefit to the Hillsboro community, the camera would also be used for mutual aid in the county.

“So all the fire departments that we have a mutual-aid agreement with, it would be available to them by us bringing it out there,” Steketee said.

Steketee said the fund-raiser goes beyond all borders in his book.

“I feel blessed to live in a community where, after a tragedy, people are still willing to do things for others instead of dwelling on their own problems.”

By Sept. 1, Lehr and Porter had met with the committee three times and had the supplies for the breakfast ordered.

“We’re just getting all fired up about buying for this thing,” Lehr said with a smile.

On a more serious note, she said organizers and volunteers hope to tell the firefighters, “Thanks for your help, keep up the good work, and thanks for all your sacrifices.”

To donate to the Hillsboro Fire Department Thermal Imaging Fund, call Steketee at 947-3556. For more information about the breakfast, call the church at 947-3144.

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