Excerpts from northernstarinfo.com:

Saturday, DeKalb firefighters celebrated 150 years of serving the city. The event was held in the Barsema Alumni Center from 5 to 10 p.m. Firefighters, friends, and family gathered to commemorate past and current firefighters. Attendees stepped into a cocktail hour as soon as they entered the foyer.  There were speeches and a PowerPoint presentation.  History played a major role in the celebration. DeKalb’s fire department began as a volunteer-only operation in 1869. During that time, DeKalb was a growing community that needed protection from fire. The slideshow gave details about DeKalb’s fire department, the men that served and major fires during that time. The presentation ended with the mission for the department’s future endeavors.

The event was sponsored by the DeKalb Firefighters Historical Foundation, which was founded in 2012.