Conesville FD Invites You To Day of Events

By Liz Page

CONESVILLE – It isn't every day that you get a shiny new fire truck and it's a tradition with fire departments to invite all the neighboring departments in to give it a wet down and initiate it into service. The Conesville Fire Department is doing one better, not only are they holding a wet down party, but they have invited the public to come enjoy a breakfast buffet, an Easter egg hunt and photos with the Easter Bunny.

"It should be a good day," said Conesville Fire Chief Waylon Robinson. He's hoping for mild temperatures.

The department has not had a new truck since the 1995 tanker, so it has been 30 years. The new truck is a 2025 International pumper that pumps 1,250 gallons per minute and holds 1,000 gallons of water. It has been a long four years, said Robinson. It has taken that long for it to make its way to Conesville. Robinson said they ordered it during the pandemic and it has taken all that time to get it off the assembly line. It arrived in New York in late January and of course, the winter has been pretty brutal this year, so the department members decided to combine it with the usual Easter events. "We didn't want to wait until summer when there are always so many things going on, so we decided to combine it with our spring breakfast buffet and visit from the Easter Bunny," said Robinson. “We’re hoping we have nice weather for the day.”

So on April 13, everyone is invited to the Conesville Fire House at 1292 state Route 990V in Conesville for a breakfast buffet from 8-11:30 a.m., by donation. The breakfast will feature pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage gravy, biscuits and more. Proceeds will benefit the CFD.

At 11 a.m., have your Easter baskets ready so you can pose for a picture with the Easter Bunny and join in the Easter Egg Hunt.

The wet down is set for 12 noon, when fire trucks and members from other departments will give the new truck a dousing with water to initiate its service. It is now Conesville's front line pumper.

Robinson said the fire house will also serve as an open house for people to come in and view the new truck. "We want them to bring the family, meet our fire department and celebrate with our community," said Robinson.