Annual U.P. firefighter tournaments underway

IRON RIVER — Firefighters were busy last night in Iron River but not because of a fire.

Supporters lined the street of Genesee waiting for their turn to applaud their towns firemen, at the one hundred and twenty-second Annual UP Firefighter Tournaments.

Assistant Chief, Jeff Swenkis said, “The tournament starts out, with the dress parade, the dress parade is when everybody marches, in uniform, military style, in step with a color guard presentation of colors. After that parade there will be a street dance up in Iron River Heights, hosted by the Legion, then we proceed to our night shirt parade.

There were around forty-eight different fire departments showing pride during the parade. Swenkis stated, “the night shirt parade for anybody who hasn’t seen it, it’s kind of a good time. And everybody has a lot of fun with that. Still taking the goal of winning very seriously but they have a good time with that parade.”

The night shirt parade along with all the numerous events gives the firemen much bragging rights and a great way to stay in touch. Next year’s tournament’s will be hosted by the Florence Fire department for the one hundred and twenty-third annual U.P. Firefighter Tournaments.