Weiser city fire department needs donations for fireworks

    The Weiser City Volunteer Fire Association is in need of donations to fuel its 2021 Fourth of July fireworks display.
 Donations this year are not coming in, according to Weiser City Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Jeremy Black.
 “Country Financial (a local insurance company) is matching every donation up to $500, but people aren’t donating; I don’t know why,” he said. “We have a few, but we are short right now.”
 The Association’s goal is $8,500, which covers the cost of 600 shots over a 30-minute show.
 Black said they already have the fireworks and need to pay Lantis Fireworks of Utah, the company that has supplied the Association for years, by July.
 “We’ve been doing business with them for so long that they aren’t worried about it, but, of course, they want to get paid,” he said. “Most people think that the money for the fireworks show comes out of the City’s fire budget, but it doesn’t. If we don’t get donations, the Association has to pay for it.”

The City of Weiser donates about $3,000 out of its general fund, according to Black who said they also have about $1,800 left over from last year. Combined with the few donations they have so far, the Association is running about $2,000 short.
 “We’ve only had about six donations, so right now we are looking at starting with zero dollars next year,” he said.
 The Association normally holds a Fireman’s Breakfast, but Black said the event hasn’t been “penciling out,” which means it’s a lot of work for not much of a return.
 New fundraising events are being explored for next year, but for now, Black is asking the public to step up and make donations.
 “Country Financial is still willing to match donations up to $500,” he said. “I’m keeping a tally of who donates and how much, and then at the end of it, they are going to cut a check.”
 Donations can be made by mailing a check, or dropping it off, at the Weiser City Fire and Rescue Department, located at 55 W. Court St. People can mail it or drop it off in the Department’s mailbox.
 Checks should be made payable to the Weiser City Volunteer Fire Association.
The Show
 The Fourth of July fireworks show is scheduled for 10:30 p.m.
 This year the show will feature four, eight-inch shells; eight, six-inch shells; and several three- to four-inch shells.
 “This year the company (Lantis) threw in a couple big shells with shapes to see if we like them,” Black said. “I think there will be a heart and a smiley face.”
 There will be 600 continuous shells in all, with a 30- to 40-shell burst for the grand finale.
 Black said preparations begin at 8 a.m. and takes about four or five hours and 20 volunteers from the Association.
 “Then you have to have people sit there the whole time, to make sure no one goes inside the perimeter,” he said.
 The perimeter is an empty field directly adjacent to Hillcrest Cemetery.
 The show can be seen from just about any vantage point in town, but many choose to bring blankets to the golf course across Indianhead Road or light their own fireworks at the Weiser High School parking lot, which has the feel of a tailgate party, Black said.