Fire district centennial parade in downtown Menlo Park
After 100 years in operation, the Menlo Park Fire Protection District has seen many firefighting vehicles and gadgets come and go.
Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 21, in downtown Menlo Park, some of those vehicles – and others from well before 1916 – will be part of a parade to celebrate the fire district's centennial.
The parade will move along Santa Cruz Avenue, starting at El Camino Real and ending at University Drive.
Following the parade and until 3 p.m., demonstrations and displays will be open to the public at the city's parking lot A, between Santa Cruz Avenue and Oak Grove Avenue across from Fire Station 6.
Chief Harold Schapelhouman of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District said attendees can expect to see the following:
● A 1862 Cowing hand pumper. Owned by the Redwood City Fire Department, it is one of the "oldest known hand-drawn units of its kind," Chief Schapelhouman said.
● A 1899 hose wagon, the oldest piece of firefighting equipment used by local volunteer firefighters, Chief Schapelhouman said. It will be drawn by two horses.
● A 1901 steam engine. Drawn by three horses, this belongs to the California State Firefighters Association.
● More than a dozen motorized firefighting vehicles from the 1910s through the 1970s that are publicly and privately owned.
● Modern firefighting engines and other public safety vehicles.
The parade will be led by the firefighters association color guard.
The Menlo Park Fire Protection District was established in 1916.
