Milestones made at fire dept blood drive

The American Red Cross blood drive at the Graafschap Fire Department station, 4534 60^th St., saw two milestones for donors.

Nancy Shepard from Castle Park reached the 5-gallon mark at the collection event on Thursday, January 30, 2025. She is a former volunteer ambulance driver and EMT in Pittsburgh, Penn., and Laguna Beach, Calif.

Mark Bajema of Zeeland reached the donation level of 14 gallons at the Thursday event. He has been a donor since age 19 at Hope College with his inspiration coming from his mother who was a nurse. He likes the convenience of the fire station and the ease of scheduling.

For more information on blood donations, visit the Red Cross site here.

For more on the Graafschap event, click here.

The next blood drive at the Graafschap station is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, March 27.

Community Risk Reduction

The blood drives are a part of the Community Risk Reduction initiative the department started in 2022.

The department has free weekly blood pressure checks at the facility from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays.

Reflective address signs are made in-house by Graafschap Fire Department retirees. The signs are usually ready for pick up at the fire station after two business days of receiving the order – and the $20 cost is paid at the time of pick-up.

The signs can also be ordered here.

The program also continues a smoke and carbon monoxide installation program. Free alarms installed by firefighters are available to residents. These 10-year lithium battery alarms are provided by a state grant.

For more information, call the fire department at (616) 396-4060 or visit here.