The DeKalb Fire Department will hold its 4th Annual Pancake Breakfast 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Oct. 4 at DeKalb Fire Station #1, 700 Pine St.

This breakfast will raise funds for the DeKalb Firefighters Historical Foundation, which was founded four years ago, according to Patrick Eriksen, DeKalb Fire Department firefighter and paramedic.

The foundation was created to, “protect and preserve the long standing history and traditions of the DeKalb Fire Department,” according to a DeKalb Fire Fighters Historical Foundation flier.

Eriksen said the DeKalb fire department was founded on a volunteer basis in 1869 and became a full time fire department in 1904.

“We’re going to be coming up on our 150^th anniversary of the fire department and we’ve acquired a lot of artifacts…” Eriksen said. “Both big, as far as old vehicles, old rigs … even all the way down to the smallest thing like badges from history past.”

Eriksen said the foundation hopes to create a museum, which will be open to the public, to house the artifacts.

The proceeds from the breakfast will go towards finding a building in downtown DeKalb to house the museum, and then towards ongoing maintenance and infrastructure for the historical foundation.

“Once we get past that then we might be able to utilize those funds in many other means,” Eriksen said.

The event will cost $5 for adults, $3 for children ages 4-10 and free for children under 4. Tickets will be available the day of the event.

In addition to members of the fire department cooking breakfast for guests, the event will also have an open house style tour of the station, an inflatable jump house, and a smoke trailer to coincide with fire prevention month.

Current and retired fire department apparatus will be on display. The breakfast will also feature Touch a Truck, in which current and older retired vehicles from the 1950s and 60s will be out for guests to take pictures and climb around on.

NIU autographed memorabilia, gift cards to Fanatico, smoke detectors, and other prizes will be raffled off.

For more information contact Adam Miller at 815-748-8649.