WASHINGTON—On Sunday, hundreds gathered to celebrate Cleveland Park Firehouse’s 100th year in the community. The firehouse bay was packed with people, from fire fighters and officials, D.C. government representatives, to community members and their children.
“It’s hard to imagine that when this fire station was built, it was the only building on Connecticut Avenue,” said Ruth Caplan, president of the Cleveland Park Citizen’s Association, the group that organized the celebration.
D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson and Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh spoke at Sunday’s ceremony.
Cleveland Park’s firehouse holds a special place in Cheh’s heart, from the days when she lived around the corner.
“My children were little then — they’re way grown now. But we would always come by here,” she said. “They loved the firehouse. The firefighters were always engaging, they’d let them go on the trucks and stuff like that … And in addition, I have been involved with the firehouses, and this one in particular, to get them all modernized.”
The firehouse was closed in 2010 for needed renovations and reopened in 2014.
Engine 28 Captain Daniel Dugan said he expected a good turnout, and was pleasantly surprised on Sunday. “This was so far over the top from what I was thinking was going to happen,” he said.
Children got a kick out of the brightly attired clowns, Judy and Gary, who fashioned balloon animals while their parents snapped smartphone photos.
Other little ones preferred climbing into one of the two parked fire trucks.
Engine Company 28 and Ladder Company 14 share the Cleveland Park Firehouse. Ladder Company 14 celebrated its 90th anniversary earlier this year, according to a press release from the Cleveland Park Citizen’s Association.
