SHERBURNE – The Sherburne Fire Department held its annual awards dinner Saturday night, honoring members for their service to the community.

Fire Chief Pat Lawrence and EMS Chief Jay Symonds shared their annual reports with the volunteers and community members. Lawrence said this year, the department responded to more than 100 calls in its protection district, and aided other departments in several other calls. “Those calls accounted for more than 1,000 person hours,” Lawrence said.

Included in the calls were 126 hazard mitigation scenarios, 26 motor vehicle accidents, 11 miscellaneous fires and eight structure fires. “In addition, we spent a large number of hours on education during our Wednesday night meetings and other trainings,” Lawrence said.

The department also aided in community events, such as the 60th Annual Pageant of Bands, regular pancake breakfasts and chicken barbecues.

“We continue to be a strong department, although we do not have a full roster,” Lawrence said. “We need new members.” He added that the strength of the department is due in part to the good relationships Sherburne has developed with neighboring districts. “No one can do it on their own.”

Symonds said the EMS crew saw 496 activations this year, and dispatched crews 447 times. “That means 10 percent of our calls we had to turn over because we could not cover them with Sherburne’s people,” Symonds said.