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The Region 5 IFBA Convention was
held on April 16-18, 1999 in Shreveport, Louisiana and hosted by the
Signal 51 Group. The event also celebrated the group's 30th birthday. An
exciting schedule included guided tours of Shreveport's newly enlarged
and renovated 911 facility, Shreveport Firefighters' Museum, new Airport
Crash Station (Station 21), Station 51 antique fire truck display, and
Central Fire Station. The S.F.D. staged an impressive firefighting and
lifesaving demonstration at the Fire Academy, utilizing 5 engines, a
hook & ladder truck, a rescue truck and an ambulance. This was
followed by a hot dog lunch. Visiting guests got to ride in the Group's
recently acquired 1974 American LaFrance pumper in the annual Holiday in
Dixie downtown parade. Hundreds of bead necklaces were provided and
thrown to the crowds along the parade route.
A fishfry was held at new Station
20 with 90 in attendance, including our 30 out of town visitors, Signal
51 Group members, their spouses and guests, as well as S.F.D. officials
and firefighters. This was followed with a birthday party with all the
cake one could eat. Of the 30 out of town fire buffs and their
spouses/guests present, were John Embrey from Canon City, Colorado and
IFBA Executive Vice President, Gary Heathcote and his wife from
Baltimore, Maryland.
Headquarters hotel was the
Pelican Inn where a hospitality room was constantly in use for
registration, radio monitoring, delicious snacks and drinks, and of
course, socializing. Many went to a 2 AM fire on Sunday morning (2nd
alarm structural), and later many visited city fire stations and went to
an "O" gauge model train layout demonstration.
In short, a Jewel of a
Convention! Signal 51 Group believes it was their biggest and most
successful ever.
Harvey Carter
Secretary, Signal "51" Group
A special thanks to all the
firefighters who helped us make our 30th anniversary a very special
event. "B" Shift was on duty and firefighters from District 4
participated in the demostration at the fire academy. District Chief
2's, Chief Pope and Safety Officer Captain Conley assisted our wives
with preparing lunch for all the firefighters and visiting buffs after
the demo. Station 7 "B" Shift gave all the visting buffs a
homemade ice cream party after supper on Friday night. For our banquet
the Firefighters Local 514 Union did the fishfry for us which was
delicious. Station 20's crew were also very helpful in preparing for the
banquet. We also appreciated how nice the 911 Center staff was in
explaining how their system works and for being so hospitable to
all the visting buffs. "C" Shift had a totally involved
structure fire for us early Sunday morning and last but not least, a
special thanks to Chief Bo Roberts and Administrative Chief David Bryant
for all they did to make our meeting such a success.
Meeting
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