OSO — It’s an annual tradition that’s been going for at least 15 years, so the members of the Oso Fire Department hope the surrounding community will join them for yet another salmon bake and auction on Saturday, Sept. 7, from 4-7 p.m. at Oso Fire Station 37, located at 21824 State Route 530 NE in Arlington.

Kate Sullivan, the public relations coordinator for the event for the past two years running, promised that attendees will get to see more than a dozen fire department personnel cooking up their meals, which will be served by members of the department’s women’s auxiliary.

“We’ll have corn on the cob, and the Tulalip Tribes will be donating the salmon, like they do every year,” Sullivan said.

Meals cost $12 per person, and raffle ticket sales will help fund needed big-ticket items for the fire department that its regular budget simply can’t cover. Last year’s auction funded the purchase of AirPacs, portable air tank respirators that allow firefighters to enter burning buildings without asphyxiating from smoke or toxic fumes.

“Our auction funds don’t go toward monthly maintenance,” Sullivan said. “They pay for what our personnel need to respond to fire and aid calls, to help keep the community safe.”

The surrounding community is Sullivan’s favorite part of each year’s salmon bake and auction, since community members tend to turn out in large numbers for the event, and those who do attend tend to do so often enough to have developed a camaraderie that she finds heartwarming.

“There are all the running jokes that go around every year,” Sullivan said. “We have people who have come to the salmon bake for years, and they’ll tell all the same stories each year. It’s great. We love being able to be involved in the community to this level.”

For more information, log onto the Oso Fire Department’s Facebook event page for the Sept. 7 salmon bake and auction at www.facebook.com/events/201904773305234, or visit the Facebook page for the fire department itself at www.facebook.com/OsoFireDepartment.