GRAFTON - QEM Fire Protection District will host their annual fish fry fundraiser.
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From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, community members can join the QEM firefighters at their location at 14905 Elsah Road in Grafton. An adult dinner costs $15 and children’s dinners range from $6–8. All proceeds go back to the firefighters.
“For us, it’s pretty important to have that engagement, especially with our community. We do a lot of outreach,” said Firefighter Victoria Westfall. “We are a 100% volunteer department. Our guys, everybody here, we all have full-time jobs, so we take the day off and we dedicate the whole day to the fire department.”
The firefighters will fry buffalo fish and catfish, available while supplies last. Attendees can also enjoy hot dogs, baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, and homemade desserts. Westfall noted that the firefighters’ wives will be busy in the kitchen this year, making it a true family event.
Firefighter Cameron Mank and Westfall expressed their appreciation for the community members who come out to support them. The proceeds from the fish fry and raffles will go toward the firefighters’ gear, meals, and other necessities.
Additionally, Mank and Westfall enjoy meeting attendees whose homes they have responded to. They said it can be powerful to talk to these people and learn that they’re doing okay.
“We’ve had people come up that have lost their homes, and they come to our fish fry, and it’s so nice to hear the story, because a lot of times, you never hear the ‘after’ story,” Westfall explained. “It’s always nice to hear the ‘after’ story of them rebuilding a new home or how their family is doing. It’s just nice to be out there with the community.”
Westfall and Mank encourage people to come out to the fish fry and support the firefighters if possible, or just to mingle and get to know them. For more information about QEM Fire Protection District, including how to support them, visit their official website at QEMFire.org or their official Facebook page.
“It’s just a good opportunity to see what we have going on,” Mank added. “Maybe you can’t catch us on one of these, but there’s plenty of other ways to meet us and come on up if you see us at an event and talk. We love interacting with the community.”
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