A community doesn’t just happen; it takes all kinds of people and many volunteers – people who give their time to help others. Such is the case of the small-town volunteer fire department. These departments would not exist if it weren’t for the many volunteers willing to leave their families, jobs and plans at a moment’s notice to help someone else.  

The Starbuck Fire Department acknowledged three men who collectively have served over 100 years in the department at the April 4 meeting. Honored at the meeting were Dalen Gosseling, served 39 years; Mike Erickson, served 32 years; and Terry Brown, 29 years. Each received a customized axe commemorating their years of service.

For all three, giving back to the community was a driving force to join. In the years of the department, they all said the most significant change had been the extensive training that now takes place. “There is more state-mandated training,” said Gosseling. This training ranges from EMS training to fire calls. Another change said Brown is the trucks. “When we started, all the fire trucks were manual; now, all have an automatic transmission but two.”  

The men all said they will miss being part of the department, but are looking forward to retirement from the duties of a firefighter.  The Starbuck Fire Department currently has 25 volunteers.