In an emergency, always dial 911

Rush Fire Department Answering the call since 1920

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Decades of Service

LifeMembers

Life membership is the department's recognition of longevity — awarded to those who gave twenty-five or more active years to the department and to this town. A standing honor, held for life.

What it means

A standing honor

Life membership is not applied for. It is proposed by the membership, reviewed by the Board of Directors, and voted in by a quorum of the active body — a quiet ceremony that carries more weight than the words suggest.

The threshold is twenty-five or more years of active service: showing up for drills, answering alarms, sitting on committees, teaching the next generation. The exact count matters less than the consistent presence. Life members don't stop serving when the title is awarded — most are still on the roster, still showing up.

Life membership is held for life. It carries full voting rights in the membership regardless of active status, and it comes with the gratitude of every person who will ever be protected by the department these members built.

The bar

25+

Years of active service

The department asks only what you can give. Twenty-five years given freely is extraordinary, and the membership treats it that way.

The roll

Life Members

20 Life Members — 25+ years active service

  1. Red Bayer

  2. Wayne Burdett

  3. Duane Fanning

  4. Carey Dell

  5. Robert Faugh

  6. Jim Galbally

  7. Cathy Henry

  8. Lynn Mack

  9. Larry Meston

  10. Dan Monaghan

  11. Diana Pfersick

  12. James Princehorn

  13. Jerry Sheppard

  14. Bev Smith

  15. Al Sweet

  16. Dale Sweet

  17. Mike Terzo Sr.

  18. Roger Tobey

  19. Doug Watson

  20. Dick Wheeler

In memory

A permanent roll

Several of our life members have since passed. Their names remain on this roll permanently. We honor their service and hold their families in lasting regard. Life membership, once given, does not expire.

The next chapter

It starts with a
single drill night

Every person on that roll started with zero experience and no guarantee they’d stay. They stayed. Drill nights, Mondays, 7:00 PM at Station 1 — come see what that looks like.