The Menlo Park Fire Protection District turns 100 this June, and to celebrate, its members will wear commemorative badges for the year.
The badge, proposed by Mike Harrington, a fire engineer, features a Maltese cross with an eagle in its design, and was approved by a majority of the firefighters. The symbol was used until 1991, when it was replaced with a different design.
The eight points of the Maltese cross are said to represent fire service values: loyalty, sympathy, observation, explicitness, perseverance, tact, dexterity and gallantry.
The badges each cost about $90 and can be purchased by retired members and staff now and by active duty personnel when the anniversary is over.
The Menlo Park Fire Protection District provides fire and emergency services to areas including Atherton, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and unincorporated North Fair Oaks.
More celebrations ahead
2016 promises to be a busy year for the fire protection district, according to its timeline of events planned in the coming months.
● April/May: Opening of a new fire station in East Palo Alto.
● May 21: Community celebration of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District’s 100th anniversary, featuring an old-fashioned parade down Santa Cruz Avenue with horse-drawn, antique and new firefighting vehicles.
● Later this year: Groundbreaking on another proposed fire station in downtown Menlo Park.