• Friday-What'sUP July 4 - 02:38 pm

This past weekend was the 62nd annual Copper Country Volunteer Firefighters Tournament, held in Chassell this year. The event always includes competitions between the local departments with various games, including the one photographed here by Taana Kalliainen. In this competition, the firefighters had to run to pick up a ladder, put it up against the makeshift house, climb to the roof, rescue the stuffed cat stuck up there, then race back to hand it safely over to a lovely blue-haired lady waiting to welcome her kitty back on the ground. Something firefighters have often been portrayed as doing, but one which I’ve never really witnessed until viewing these photos.

The weekend of events also includes a parade, with each of the participating departments dressed in their finest attire, carrying banners declaring which town or village they proudly volunteer to protect. Some (like the Calumet Township department pictured) even carry a large ax, the type used to get through walls to rescue people trapped inside burning buildings.
Also included in the parade are floats with fire and rescue themes and of course the various local department's fire trucks all shined up for the special day.
It is an entertaining event for those that come to watch the races, but for the firefighters themselves, it’s a time to come together with other departments in friendly competitions and have some fun.

In case you’re wondering, of the 18 local departments in attendance, the overall winners at the tournament were: 1st place - Laurium; 2nd place - Allouez; 3rd place - Hancock... And the winners for the Rescue the Cat race pictured here above were: 1st place - Allouez; 2nd place - Calumet Township; 3rd place - Laurium.

A BIG thank you to all the men and women who volunteer their time to put in hour upon hour of training, so they can be there to help put out fires and rescue folks in our home towns, risking their own lives to help others.

love the pictures

A salute to them all!

I really like that Big truck!

Great pictures and our thanks to the men & women who do these important and dangerous jobs to keep us all safe.

Awesome pics...and I love the skull mounted on the
firetruck! GREAT idea!!!!

Looks like that was a weekend of fun and good times!

Great pics. I am so very thankful for all of our
volunteer fire fighters and first responders! They are
unsung heroes and give so much of their own time and
risk their lives too. God bless each and every one!

There they go again!
Those small town Yoopers sure can throw a parade!
(Don'cha love that Quincy #2 in photo #6? Brilliant!)
Cheers to all the Volunteer Firefighters!

just got home from the lake linden fireworks, it was fun.

And a good time was had by all!!! Fun stuff!