Antique 22, the West Grove Fire Company's 1928 Hale pumper, was invited to make a special appearance at the grand opening of the Christiana Fire Company's new station on Saturday, June 4. More commonly known as Elsie, Antique 22 made the nine mile drive down through Newark and across I-95 to the ceremony, where she was a featured guest among a range of fire trucks present for the ceremony.

Christiana has completed a multi-year construction project to replace its firehouse. The company, which runs more than 16,000 EMS and fire calls annually, had to move to temporary quarters across the street while the old facility was torn down and replaced with an impressive new structure that can accommodate the very busy operation. The new station was formally opened yesterday with a traditional bell ringing, and on display was a bell that was used to summon firefighters to the original building on that site from 1921. Also housed yesterday was the company's latest pumper, along with acknowledgements on the company's 100th anniversary recently.

WGFC and Christiana have a shared history of members who have cross-volunteered, and have always worked closely together. Today, WGFC's Deputy Fire Chief Josh Hawk is an experienced career firefighter at Christiana as well.

Congratulations to the Christiana Fire Company on your new station and may it serve you well for the second 100 years of your history. For more information on Christiana, see: https://www.christianafc.org/ .