Annual Upland Fire Department open house canceled

The annual Upland Fire Department open house has been canceled due to budget constraints.

The open house was scheduled for Oct. 2 to give residents an opportunity to view the new fire station at Campus Avenue and 19th Street.

But city officials decided to opt out of spending the extra money.

"If people want to go stop by and drop off a plate of cookies for the firefighters, that's fine, but we just don't have the dollars and cash to have staff open up the fire station and have another unit there in case case there's a call and do tours of the fire station," Mayor John Pomierski said.

Having an open house for the new animal shelter in Memorial Park also was considered, but that, too, was ruled out due to the budget, he said.

Firefighters serve guests a pancake breakfast and hot dog lunch during the annual event to raise money for their Explorers program.

Fire safety tips also typically were shared with guests.

"These are things other cities aren't doing," Pomierski said. "They just aren't doing them and probably didn't even put out a memo saying that they were even considering them. Since we considered it, it looks like we're making a pullback."

The new fire station opened earlier this year. It is home to the 100-foot ladder truck.

Even though the official open house is not taking place, residents can still drive by or walk by the facility to check it out, Redevelopment Director Jeff Zwack said.

"If people want to see the fire station, there are many areas people can go into and people can drive by," he said. "It's a beautiful building."