The Grantsburg Rural Fire Association continues to make improvements to their fire station property, and last week completed the installation of a unique piece of local firefighting history, that also has a bit of a sad tale behind it.
The original Grantsburg Fire Station bell was installed on the corner of South Pine Street and East Broadway, also showing a placard of the history and background of the huge iron fixture.
Emblazoned with a fresh coat of paint, the 1896 bell was first installed at the original GFD station along Burnett Avenue, but as firefighting technology advanced, the bell was later replaced with an electric siren, 30 years later.
Deemed obsolete, it was later moved to the second fire station 30 years after that, and remained there until the station closed in 2014.
It has not been in service for some time, and the last time the bell peeled was to honor firefighter Dana Johnson, who died in the line of duty in February 2001.