GRANTS, NM – This weekend the 85th Annual Tri-State Fire Association Convention was held in Grants. The event was hosted by San Rafael Volunteer Fire Department. The convention had many events for the participants which included various trainings and contests, a comedy skit event, a water fight and an awards banquet was held at the end of the convention.
In 1938 a small group of Fire departments started the Tri-State Fire Association Convention with just four teams that participated in the contest. They were hosted by Cortez, Delores, Durango and Gallup. In the Montezuma Valley Journal from May 19, 1938, it states, “The Cortez Fire Department was able to report that the conventions expenses had been met. That in itself was a happy reward to the tired committee, but the greatest satisfaction that they had was the assurance from the visitors that the convention was thoroughly enjoyed by all.” Due to this the convention has continued for almost 90 years.
During the event a memorial was also held for the firefighters who have passed. The memorial honored Clarence Marez of the San Rafael VFD, Mike Trujillo of the Grants VFD, Ernest Macias of the Grants VFD, Roberto Randall of the Dolores FPD, Dalton Janz of the Dolores FPD, Johnson Watson of the Gallup FD, and Wayne E. Lee of the Lewis-Arriola VFD.
The Gallup Fire Department took home first place trophies in many events, the comedy skit event, the six-man event, the four-man event, and the one-man event. The Gallup fire department also took home the sweepstakes trophy, which is the third year in a row that they have won sweepstakes. The water fight was between the two lowest scoring departments, which were Milan Fire and Ft. Lewis Mesa. In the end Ft. Lewis Mesa won the water fight and took home the trophy.
Each year a new department hosts the event. It was announced at the awards banquet that the next host for the 2024 TSFA Convention will be Rico Fire Department and will be held in Rico, Colorado.