A scenic 50-mile ride through late September weather awaits motorcycle riders and supporters at the 2014 Firehouse Ride. The route, which meanders through surrounding towns, starting and ending at 71 South Main Street in Newtown, is an annual fundraiser for Newtown Hook and Ladder Co #1, which is raising funds for a new firehouse.

This year’s Firehouse Ride, the fifth annual undertaking by the volunteer fire company, is scheduled for Sunday, September 28, and includes a pig roast lunch, raffle prizes, and entertainment at The One-Eyed Pig bar and restaurant. Registration begins at 9 am and the ride kicks off at 11.

Tickets for riders are $30, and $15 for passengers and general admission for those who want to attend the pig roast without going on the ride. The ride returns to 71 South Main for lunch, entertainment, and a raffle.

The fire company announced in May that it had successfully negotiated the purchase of property from Trinity Church, and that a planned new headquarters would be developed on the vacant parcel off Church Hill Road between Queen and Main Streets. A $1.5 million capital allocation has been pending for several years.

Hook & Ladder’s current firehouse, which was built in the early 1930s, is behind Edmond Town Hall at 45 Main Street. Sometime after 1947 a small addition was built on the east side of the building for Newtown Volunteer Ambulance. A larger addition on the west side of the building was built by the members and dedicated in 1969.

In recent years the company has seen “a dramatic need for more space,” according to the Firehouse Ride Event page on Facebook. Efforts include a trailer for storage behind the fire station and a minor addition to enlarge the old ambulance garage to house one of the pumper trucks.

“The town’s building is only so big and space is at a premium — every officer and committee share the only office space available,” according to the website. “Space for needed supplies is kept close at hand by an army of storage lockers lining the apparatus bay walls.”

Find more information at Firehouseride.com, which details the fire company’s origins, history, service and commitment to Newtown, and offers additional details about the conditions of the current headquarters for the town’s oldest fire company.