MANISTEE, MI—A northern Michigan fire station has been dubbed the world’s oldest continuously staffed fire station, and just in time for its 130th year anniversary.
The Manistee Fire Station was awarded the title of “Oldest Continuously Manned Operating Fire Station” by Guinness World Records on Monday.
This is the first time Guinness has ever given out this award, and the designation required more than two years of documentation-gathering by the Manistee Fire Station.
The station had to prove it has been staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year as a fully manned, paid professional fire department since it opened its doors in 1889.
“This day marks an important milestone not only of our fire department, but for this fire station and the community it serves,” said Fred LaPoint, Manistee engineer paramedic, in a released statement. “Historic places like the Manistee Fire Station matter because they give us a deeper appreciation and understanding of our past in a way that written documents can’t.”
LaPoint, who joined the Manistee Fire Department in 1979, was the one who spearheaded the world record project.
After coordinating with Manistee Fire Chief Tim Kozal, LaPoint submitted a request to Guinness World Records in January 2017 for the organization to create the category of “Oldest Continuously Manned Operating Fire Station.”
Once the category was established, LaPoint embarked on a two-year operation to gather the necessary documentation to prove that the station has been continuously manned.
The process required hundreds of hours of sifting through historical archives, according to the release. LaPoint eventually submitted thousands of pages of texts, hundreds of photos, and more than 24 audio/video files for the station’s application.
Provided to MLive.com by the Manistee Fire Department. Manistee engineer paramedic Fred LaPoint guesses that this photo was taken in the 1940s or 1950s at the Manistee Fire Station, and depicts the crew under Chief Stanley Buchinski.
But in the end, the hard work was worth it – the station now has its name in world record books.
“I would like to congratulate the City of Manistee, the Fire Department, and Fred LaPoint for this monumental achievement,” said Mark Fedder, executive director of the Manistee County Historical Museum, who assisted in the documentation project. “It’s really something unique. The Manistee community has always been proud of this building and its firefighters, and this designation makes it all the more special.”
The Manistee Fire Station celebrated the award on the same day as the station’s 130th year anniversary, and in Manistee’s 150th year as a city.
“Today, we get to take a look back in time at our fire station and the inception of our fire department,” Kozal said at a dedication event on June 17. “Chief Fleissner opened the doors of this station 130 years ago. One can only imagine the stories, the training, the sleepless nights and how they communicated shaped the fire department.”
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