Optimist Club Honors Maquoketa Firefighters

The Optimist Club Of Maquoketa honored the Annual Maquoketa Fire Department/Rescue Squad Wednesday, October 16th with a delicious meal at the Fraternal Order
Of Eagles Club In Maquoketa. We had approximately 61 people in attendance.

The Optimist Club of Maquoketa Thanks the Maquoketa Fire Department/Rescue squad for all you do for keeping us safe.

The following information is compliments of Fire Chief Carl “Al” Muhlhausen.

Al thanked the Optimist Club for hosting this annual Firefighter’s Appreciation Banquet
and also Lura Daniels & crew for the outstanding meal as usual. Thank you to their spouses for your time and dedication to this crazy profession
they chose.

The Maquoketa Fire Department currently has 28 members and they have no
probationary members. Their newest member was just voted into the department
officially on October 3rd. And they are proud to say that they have their first female
firefighter: Meghan Morales.

Al Muhlhausen introduced the members that were in attendance.

As of October 16th they had 62 fire calls and 79 rescue calls, with several of those
being out to the Maquoketa Caves this summer.

They just finished up fire prevention week last week with preschool, pre-K,
Kindergarten & special education students in 1st & 2nd grade. There were
approximately 217 students that went through the station last week.

During Fire prevention week they also had Operation EDITH (exit drills in the home) on
Wednesday, October 9th. They had 1286 residents of Maquoketa Participate.

They are expecting a delivery of their new rural pumper sometime in April or May of
2025.

One of the reasons for this event is for the Optimist Club of Maquoketa & Maquoketa
Fire Department / Rescue Squad to recognize a member or two for their service and
dedication to the department.

The 1st that they would like to recognize is a 25 year member of the department as of
this month, Mr. Chad Steffen. Chad came from Earlville. Chad was previously our
training officer and is currently on our Communication Committee, which takes care of
our radios & pagers. Chad is a member of the Rescue Squad and also one of our Lead
Drivers / Operators.

The 2nd member that they honored is Dave Neumann. Dave joined the department in
October of 2002. Dave is currently our building custodian and is working on obtaining
his driver operator certification. Dave is also a member of the Rescue squad.

Al, Along with Chad & Dave, they would like to thank all of the firemen for their
dedication to our fire department, your time, effort and commitment does not go
unnoticed.