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Mt. Angel Fire District on a drill. Submitted photo

The line of defense: Rural fire districts need more volunteers

By Melissa Wagoner When Robert Gendhar graduated from high school in Hubbard, he thought he knew what he wanted to do with his life. “I wanted to be an agronomist,” he laughed. But then a few of his friends who volunteered at the local fire district convinced him to come to a meeting. “I enjoyed the atmosphere,” Gendhar remembered, “and the unknown […]

Vanquished blaze – Animals saved in barn fire at mink farm

By Stephen Floyd  Neither people nor animals were harmed after a barn caught fire at a mink farm in Mount Angel on Oct. 21. The four-alarm fire was called in around 5:20 p.m. at Ruef Fur Ranch, and first responders came upon a tall column of smoke and a barn fully involved in flames. Though the farm’s population of minks […]

The Comeback town – Mount Angel raises $50,000 for fire losses

By James Day In those corny old black-and-white movies a bunch of kids (Mickey Rooney usually was involved) would at some point declare “Let’s put on a show!”  Great energy would be expended and odds overcome as the spunky kids saved the day. In Mount Angel, it’s a bit different. It’s more like “Let’s put on a festival!” Because that’s […]

Looking to rebuild – Community regroups after destructive downtown fire

By James Day Mount Angel is in recovery mode this week as the community reels from a devastating weekend fire that destroyed historic structures and four businesses. The fire, which was called in just before 1 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, wiped out a highly visible swath of commercial property along the railroad tracks that separate the Mt. Angel Highway and […]

John Rossi awarded Gold Sparky Award from Fire Marshal

The Office of the Oregon State Fire Marshal has announced the 2021 Gold Sparky Award, which honors a fire service member for contributions to fire prevention and fire safety. This year’s Gold Sparky was awarded to Firefighter John Rossi, a Public Information Officer with Mt. Angel Fire for his work in elevating the community and the region’s fire prevention and […]