Wise Avenue VFC Cancels 2020 Train Garden

The Wise Avenue Volunteer Fire Company in Dundalk announced that they have canceled their train garden for 2020. Here is the statement on their Facebook page

“After careful consideration of all the factors, the Officers and Members of the Wise Avenue Volunteer Fire Company have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Annual Christmas Train Garden.

Our train garden, arguably one of, if not the largest in the State of Maryland attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. Even during a non-pandemic situation, it is not uncommon for us to have people crowded into our hall and waiting in lines extending out of our front doors and around our building.

With COVID-19 still a public health concern, and with our physical constraints, we cannot envision a way, either through scheduling, social distancing, mask use, etc. to assure the safety of the public and our members.

Our primary goal is the safety and protection of life of the people and property in our community. We do not want to be in the position of potentially causing the needless spread of this virus. Also, as first responders we cannot afford to unnecessarily expose our members, which could ultimately impact our
ability to provide life-saving services.

We will be making sure Santa Claus still makes his rounds on the fire engine across the entire Dundalk community. Much like we did with the Easter Bunny last March and April, we can still bring Holiday cheer while keeping people safe.

It is our greatest hope that by this time next year this public health crisis will have passed, and we can once again resume this great Dundalk tradition.”