LYNN — When Lynn firefighter Dan Dulong wanted to organize an event to get the Lynn Fire Department more involved in the community, the first thing he thought of was a day of races at the Lynn Woods Reservation.
Dulong, who also helps organize races at the park on Wednesday nights, knew the popularity of these kind of races and with the help of Local 739 Union President Mike O’Connor the first Lynn Fire Family Day and Fun Run became a reality on Saturday.
“Today went so well,” Dulong said. “It’s great for the community and fire department to be involved in an event to raise money and have fun.”
O’Connor could be found at the finish line of the day’s longest race, which featured a 4.5 mile course passing by Steel and Stone Towers, making sure each finisher got a high five along with cheers of encouragement.
“Lynn Fire is one big family,” O’Connor said. “It’s great for all of the guys from the different engines and ladders and their families, along with members from the community to come together for such a fun day.
“The community is always supporting us, so we want to support them.”
Showing support for the community was also a primary motivation for firefighters and event volunteers Andrew Luque, who manned the grill cooking up hot dogs and hamburgers, and Mark Adrien, who helped in the nearby Wyoma Softball Field concession stand serving the grill food and refreshments.
“We get all the support we could ask for so it’s great to give it back here,” Adrien said.
The event also featured a kids race and bouncy houses and inflatable obstacle courses located on the outfield of the softball field. Kids were also busy getting their faces painted and getting a red balloon.
Also on the scene was 3rd Alarm Wood Fire Pizza, which cooks its pizzas out of the back of a converted fire engine. Among some of the guests grabbing some pizza was racers were Lynner Chris Nardone and his son Jack, who participated in the kids race.
“Today was a good time, what a great turnout for the first year,” Nardone said. “Going forward more and more people should come to this event.”
The idea of making this an annual tradition for the fire department and the community is something Dulong likes the sound of.
“We may mess around with the date a bit,” he said. “But I really look forward to doing something like this again and seeing how big it can grow in the future.”
