CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio – Cuyahoga Falls is hosting the third annual Downtown Cuyahoga Falls Fire Truck Pull to benefit the Cuyahoga Falls Firefighter Memorial Foundation.
The truck pull is set for Saturday, Aug. 19 at 11 a.m. on Front Street. Check-in is from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., followed at 11 a.m. by the pulling contest.
During the event, teams of up to 10 people will attempt to pull a Falls fire truck 40 feet. The team with the fastest time wins.
The event is open to teams or individuals who will be assigned to a team, the city said. Online registration is now open.
During the fire truck pull, Front Street will be closed to traffic between Broad Boulevard and Portage trail.
“Last year, teams from across the county came to test their strength and agility as they pulled a Cuyahoga Falls firetruck,” said Mayor Don Walters. “As this friendly competition grows, we are excited to welcome all participants and visitors back again to have fun all while raising money for a good cause.”
The funds raised at the event will benefit the Cuyahoga Falls Firefighter Memorial Foundation, established in 2020 to preserve the legacy of Falls firefighters, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
To honor firefighters, the foundation is building a permanent memorial, which will feature the Falls Fire Department’s historic 700-pound bell, cast in Cincinnati in 1882.
For decades the bell was positioned atop a tower at city hall to call Falls volunteers to fight fires.
The bell tolled its final time in 1938 for a fire captain who died in the line of duty. It was then taken down and stored in the basement of city hall, which at that time was located at Front Street and Broad Boulevard.
Falls firefighters took the bell out of storage a decade later and made it the centerpiece of a makeshift memorial in in the city’s historic Oakwood Cemetery, where it spent 70 years.
In 2021, the bell was moved to Fire Station No. 3, where it was put on display while money is raised for the permanent memorial honoring fallen firefighters.
The bell’s final destination, and the site of the memorial, will be Fire Station No. 1 downtown, which is approaching 100 years of service, the city said.
Contributions to the memorial can be made online or by check (with fire truck pull in the memo line) mailed to Cuyahoga Falls City Hall, 2310 Second St., Cuyahoga Falls, 44221.
To learn more about the Cuyahoga Falls Firefighter Memorial Foundation, visit the website.
For information about the truck pull, call 330-971-8208 or send an email to the city’s Neighborhood Excellence, Communications and Community Outreach Department.
