The First Ones on Scene: How to Back Chassell’s Volunteer Fire & Rescue This Giving Tuesday
This week, the Keweenaw Report put the spotlight on the Chassell Emergency Services Fund as part of the Copper Shores Community Health Foundation’s Giving Tuesday series. The fund backs the Chassell Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, and its vice president, Erik Kocher, laid out what the crew does and what it needs next.
Chassell is home base for us. Adventure Cabins & Campground sits right here, so this one hits close. The department covers the stretch between Houghton and the Baraga–L’Anse area, and the call list is about what you’d expect in the Keweenaw: cliff and ice rescues, water emergencies, car crashes, medical calls, and storm damage when trees and lines come down. Kocher put it simply: when someone dials 911 in Chassell, there’s a very good chance the volunteers are “the first ones on scene.”
The workload is real. According to the article, the department ran 167 calls in 2025 and about 120 since January, including roughly a dozen full structure fires. That’s a lot for a volunteer crew in a small town.
The fund has four goals: new ice rescue suits, replacement turnout gear for firefighters, a LUCAS chest compression device to improve medical response, and, the big one, an expanded fire hall with more room for volunteer training. If you’ve ever walked out on Pike Bay in January or hiked a ledge above the lake, you can see why the ice suits and the CPR device matter.
For our guests: you’re part of this community while you’re here. The snowmobilers, ice fishers, hunters, MTU families and hikers who stay with us are exactly the folks this crew shows up for. And for locals, you may already know them from the chicken barbecue at the Strawberry Festival or the fire trucks in the parade. Giving Tuesday is December 1, and gifts through Copper Shores go straight to the cause you pick.
Read the full piece at the Keweenaw Report. To give, visit coppershores.org/giving-tuesday, and learn more about the fund at chassell-esf.org.
Planning a winter trip to the Copper Country? Book direct at vaultventures.co and stay right here in Chassell.