photo by Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Firefighters compete during the 2019 U.P. Volunteer Firefighters Tournament, also held in Calumet Township. This year’s tournament takes place Thursday through Saturday.

CALUMET TOWNSHIP — The U.P. Volunteer Firefighters Tournament will return to Calumet Township Thursday after three years. 

The Calumet Township Volunteer Fire Department, which last hosted in 2019, took up the mantle again this year after a previously planned department was unable to host. 

The 127th annual event will be well-attended, with thirty-seven departments representing 730 firefighters registering so far.

“That number tends to be fluid because you do have some departments that come the day of,” said Joe Panijan of the Calumet Township Fire Department.

The fun begins 7 p.m. Thursday night with the dress parade, where departments don their dress uniforms. That parade will start on Red Jacket Road, then go down Fifth Street before turning right on Elm Street, where it will end at the intersection of Fourth Street and Elm. 

At 10 p.m. Thursday, the Nightshirt Parade will start on Fifth Street, then head south, ending at the Calumet Colosseum. 

“You get to see every department’s creativity with the theme of the tournament,” Panijan said. This year’s is “Fires We Fight On a Cold Winter’s Night.”

“It’s tamed down,” Pat Boberg, Calumet fire chief, said. “It’s more family-friendly than what the past was.”

The Colosseum parking lot will also be the site of a street dance from 8 p.m. until midnight, with music provided by Rewind. 

Starting 9 a.m. Friday morning, firefighters will compete in a series of races. The opening ladder race will be followed by a dress relay, where two firefighters get their uniforms on and run to a third firefighter who has to get their gear on before crossing the finish line. Next up are a hose-coupling race and an interchange race where they have to knock over a cone by spraying it with water, shut the water off, disconnect and reconnect the hose. 

A mystery race will conclude Friday’s competition.

“We make that a fun race, not to bore anyone,” Boberg said. 

Points are given to the top five finishers in each race. 

Friday night the Firefighters Ball offers another chance to celebrate. That will also be at the Colosseum from 8 p.m. to midnight, with live music by Split Shyft. Awards will be presented at 10:30 p.m. 

To close out the tournament, there will be a Commercial Parade at 10 a.m. Saturday, following the same route as the Dress Parade. Closing ceremonies will follow at the Calumet Township Fire Station on Mine Street.  

In all parades, departments are judged by percentage of members participating. For commercial and nightshirt, they’re also judged by the creativity of their floats. Community involvement is also factored in. 

With the proceeds from hosting in 2019, Calumet Township was able to buy a thermal imaging camera, which it’s used both on fires within the township and in responding to mutual-aid requests. 

“The money we’re raising, we’re putting back into the community,” Boberg said. 

For some people, watching the firefighters compete has sparked an interest in the fire service,” Boberg said. 

“It’s also a good time to meet the men and women you saw fighting the fire on Fifth Street during the all-night fire that you really don’t socialize with,” he said. “It’s a good time. I think people are tired of COVID, and it’s time to get out and start enjoying life again.”