In 1985, Pickford Volunteer Fire Department and DeTour Volunteer Fire Department were called to a house fire in Raber Township. Due to the response time of those two departments, the house was destroyed by flames.
It was not the fault of the firefighters but rather the distance and response time to the fire.
That is when five residents in Raber Township got together and formed the Raber Township Volunteer Fire Department.
Bruce Johnson was one of those five people back in 1985 and has been the fire chief of the department since 1991.
Maintaining a fire department takes money.
"We are self-sufficient. This community pays no taxes other than a small operating millage to pay for the heat and electricity at the hall," added Johnson.
That is where the annual Raber Bay Fire on Ice Vintage Snowmobile Races enters the picture.
It's their biggest fundraiser of the year that usually brings in $6,000.
"Money raised is used to buy the necessary equipment to keep the department up to date from hoses to nozzles, self-contained breathing apparatus equipment and more," Johnson said.
Three hundred sleds were registered, with around 150 drivers participating. They came from all over the Midwest just for this event.
Sleds ranged from vintage-era machines to the latest and fastest ones, with ages from youth all the way to seasoned citizens.
Without the three dozen or so volunteers, the event could never happen.
"This is our second biggest turnout since we have been having this event in the last decade," Johnson said. "We had smaller races before that, but this Fire on Ice event has been going on for 10 years."
"We currently have about 15-17 volunteer firefighters in the department...both men and women," Johnson said.
"This is very important for the whole community as for the restaurants and hotels.
Everybody utilizes this and gets a cut of it somewhere along the line. The fire department is our mainstay. This is what we do to raise money. Like I said, we are self-sufficient."
The results of the races will be posted on this Facebook page.
