New Dilworth Firehouse Welcomes Santa for First Time

The building was unveiled in April, replacing a structure that had stood since 1980.

DILWORTH, MN (KVRR) – The newest firehouse in the F-M area got to celebrate its first holiday season by bringing in the big man from up North.

The Dilworth Fire Station opened in April, replacing the deteriorating structure that had stood since 1980.

The still sparkling-clean new building was decked out with holiday decorations for the festivities on Saturday, December 20.

Santa was there, of course, and there were also craft areas for the children as well as plenty of cookies and hot chocolate.

Many Dilworth firefighters reminisced on their childhood experiences meeting Santa in a similar location and said they were proud they could give the next generation that type of experience in a new environment.

“Having Santa at the fire hall – that’s been a tradition for the city of Dilworth for many years. I remember doing it when I was a kid in the old, old fire hall that was off of Highway 10,” said Chief Mark Empting of the department.

Continuing to speak about the building, he added, “It’s just awesome to see this, and it’s great to see that we’re able to do a little bit more as far as all the arts and crafts and things like that for the kids. It’s very humbling.”

Empting says the biggest impacts the building has had for the department so far have been the decontamination areas where firefighters can rid themselves of soot and other carcinogens and the spaces for obstacle courses and other training exercises.