Hauser Lake FPD

Breakfast with Santa 2019

Each December, the Hauser Lake Fire Department hosts this fund raising event, in memory of Shalena, to help a local family in need.

Shalena’s Breakfast with Santa is an annual fundraiser and community-building event sponsored by the Hauser Lake Volunteer Fire Department and Auxiliary. The event is held on the second Sunday of each December. Over 1,000 people are served each year; attendance increases steadily as more and more friends and neighbors discover this terrific event as a way to get into the holiday spirit. Click here for public comments about this great event.

What: Community fundraiser which includes a raffle, visits and photos with Santa Claus, and a fantastic breakfast served by the fire fighters with help from their families, friends, and 4-H groups
Why: Proceeds help a local family with a child who suffers from a serious, often terminal disease.
When: Second Sunday in December, from 7 am to 1 pm.
Where: The Hauser Lake Fire Station at 10728 N. Hauser Lake Rd., Hauser, Idaho
Served: All-you-can-eat sausage, eggs, pancakes, waffles, biscuits and gravy, orange juice, coffee and more
How much: A suggested donation of $3 per person or $10 for an entire family

This year’s breakfast

Raffle

Prizes for the raffle, which is held each year during the Breakfast with Santa, are created, filled, and donated by the Auxiliary members and other local citizens and businesses. Special thanks go to the Auxiliary members for their valuable contributions.

Share and help us even more!

Please help make the event a success by promoting the event. Share the Facebook event or this web page with your friends, family, colleagues, coworkers…anyone and everyone!

You can also help us help this family by sharing the 2019 flyer:

How Breakfast with Santa Started

Each December, the Hauser Lake Fire Department hosts this fund raising event to help a local family in need. John and Betty Mobbs started the event in 1985 when they worked to raise money to help alleviate medical bills and financial distress for the family of a Hauser Lake volunteer firefighter, Gary, whose daughter was diagnosed with cancer.

Shalena lost her battle but her memory lives on with the Breakfast. Shalena’s Breakfast With Santa has become an annual tradition within the community of Hauser, Idaho. With help from area businesses and North Idaho citizens, proceeds go to a family with a child diagnosed with a serous illness. The children’s illnesses are often terminal.

Start Your Own “Breakfast With Santa”

To suggest a family as next year’s beneficiary or for questions regarding Breakfast with Santa, email santa@hauserfire.org.

Video

Thanks to KHQ channel 6 for letting us share this fun, 2 minute video with you. KHQ Channel 6 did a little story about Breakfast with Santa on the event’s 25th anniversary. Gary Mobbs and Lisa Wendle are interviewed.

Shop to support the HLVFD!

Do you shop on Amazon? Did you know that a significant portion of your orders through Amazon can be donated to the Hauser Lake Fire Auxiliary, which is used to support the Hauser Lake Volunteer Fire Department and, therefore, the Hauser Lake community?

When you shop for the holidays, instead of going to amazon.com, simply start at smile.amazon.com/ch/82-0473450, and AmazonSmile will donate to Hauser Lake Fire Auxiliary!

Click the image above to start shopping at Amazon AND support the Hauser Lake Volunteer Fire Department and Auxiliary in Hauser, Idaho.

Burn Permits and Restrictions

Questions and answers about fires and burning in Hauser Lake.

By Chief Simms

When do I need a burning permit?

Permits for burning are required during the Idaho Closed Burning Season which is usually from May 10 through October 20. Recreational fires do not require a permit but can be no larger than 3 feet in diameter and no more than 2 foot high in fuel. Outside of that time frame, as long as there is not a Burn Ban in effect, no permit is needed. Please note that the State of Idaho sometimes does extend the permit season beyond those dates, so this can change from time to time.

Click here for a press release from the Idaho Department of Lands (IDOL) about burn permit requirements.

Where can I get a permit?

Permits, when required, for hand stacked yard waste may be obtained online or at the fire station.

This the ‘self service’ online burn permit (and renewal) available as long as burning is allowed, for free, through the IDOL: burnpermits.idaho.gov

It is important that the permit holder has a permit in possession when they are burning. If you have trouble with the link, you can also still fill out a paper form, found in the white cabinet in the front of the Hauser Lake Fire Station.

All other types of permits (slash, machine stacked slash, etc.) need to be obtained from the Idaho Department of Lands, 3258 West Industrial Loop, Coeur d’Alene.

What if no one is at the fire station to issue a permit?

Please fill out the form in the white box/cabinet at the front of the fire station. Fill out two copies, one to take with you and one to leave in the box. You can also use the online link shown above to obtain a permit.

What does a permit cost?

Permits in the Hauser Lake Fire District are issued at no cost.

Will the fire department still come out if I am burning with a permit?

Even if you have a permit the fire department may still respond if called. If there is a complaint due to smoke from your fire we may have to extinguish the fire even if you have a permit.

When is burning banned?

When weather conditions dictate burning may be banned, which means no open flames of any kind. Watch for Burn Ban signs as you drive into the area for a ban notice.

Are there any other restrictions?

Yes!

The only items you can burn are wood and paper products;
you must call the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality at 208-666-4609 or visit their website;
you must have shovel and water on hand;
and you must be the property owner.

Fire News for Hauser Lake Residents

A newsletter for Hauser Lake residents by Fire Chief Larry Simms has been mailed to residents late in June. Click the link below to read it online.

201906 newsletter for Hauser Lake Download

Support Hauser Fire when you shop at Amazon!

Turn your every day shopping into a force for good. Shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/82-0473450 and Amazon donates to Hauser Lake Fire Auxiliary.

Whenever you shop on Amazon, simply start by going to that link above first. Nothing looks different or acts different, but a small portion of your purchase will be donated to the Hauser Lake Fire Auxiliary, which ultimately supports YOUR local first responders in Hauser Lake!

Volunteer Opportunities

If you live in the Hauser Lake area, we encourage you to volunteer!

Hauser Lake Fire District map — Boundaries of the Hauser Lake Fire Protection District.

If you live in the Hauser Lake area, we encourage you to volunteer! Volunteers can help in whatever capacity they are comfortable. If you are in good physical condition, can dedicate the time, and like to work with cool tools, you can volunteer as a firefighter and/or EMT.

If you don’t feel comfortable with that, have a bit less time, or are not physically able to be a full firefighter, we can still use your help and support. We have an Auxiliary that supports members during incidents and trainings and takes on various projects. We can also utilize someone who may have a particular expertise or would simply want to help out with maintenance, administrative, fire prevention or other functions.

If you’re not interested in being a firefighter or EMT, the Hauser Lake Fire Auxiliary might be a great way for you to still help out and support the fire department. The Fire Auxiliary hosts our open house, helps with various projects around the station, and supports the firefighters during a fire by providing food and drinks to the firefighters.

If any of these avenues sound like something you would like to do, please contact us at the fire station for more information or just stop by for a chat with the Chief who is at the station most weekdays from 7 am to 4 pm.

Parting Words from a Volunteer Firefighter

Marc Kalbaugh holds the shadowbox given to him as a gift from the HLFPD upon retirement.

Marc Kalbaugh retired from the Hauser Lake Volunteer Fire Department in 2019. In a brief speech given at the annual appreciation banquet in March, he shared what being a volunteer has meant to him. Perhaps Marc’s words will help others who are considering volunteering–not just as a firefighter but in any capacity — take the plunge and serve. The following is a transcript of Marc’s speech.

I would like to thank the commissioners, past and present, for all their support throughout the years and for what they do to keep this Department moving forward and outfitted. To the members, we have had some good times but change is hard and for me I must step away. It has taken some time for me to come to this decision and it’s hard for me to make it. To the Auxiliary, some folks say you join the fire department to fight fire, I think I joined because at 3 o’clock in the morning being handed a sandwich, beef jerky, and a beverage means so much.

It has been said that “unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of our souls.” (~David Thomas, as quoted in Tryon Edwards, A Dictionary of Thoughts, 1891). If you’re looking for a reason to volunteer, for anything, no matter what it is, or for how long, think of the impacts you’ll have on yourself and the people you serve for and with.

Years from now, my fleeting memories will be filled with the experiences that had the greatest impacts on my life. I will look back at my time in the fire service and smile knowing that my service was meaningful. It really has been my honor to serve with all of you and to serve this community.

Though my time has come to an end, let’s not forget why we are here tonight: remembering and celebrating all of you for all that you do in service to this community. From the commissioners to our members’ husbands and wives, the dedication each and every one of you has to this Department, community, and the people you all help every day is truly commendable. Essentially working 24/7, 365 days a year, means sleepless nights and missed meals, taking time away from your own families and their needs to meet the needs of others.

As a fellow firefighter and now as a citizen and member of this community, I would like to take this opportunity to say, thank you for what you do.

To my brothers and sisters who put the wet stuff on the red stuff, I would like to leave you with this from the History of the World’s Greatest Fires: In Greek Mythology, Prometheus was a titan trickster who was said to have defied the gods by giving man fire. The Gods were incensed and Prometheus was sentenced to be bound to a rock to eternal torment for his transgression where each day an eagle would feast on his liver only to have it grow back to be eaten again the next day. Just think, “If Prometheus is worthy of the wrath of heaven for kindling the first fire upon earth, how ought all the gods to honor the men/women who make it their professional business to put it out!” (~John G. Saxe, quoted in George C. Hale, History of the World’s Greatest Fires, 1905)

It has truly been my honor, Thank You.

Marc Kalbaugh served with the Hauser Lake Fire Department from 2008 to 2019.