Story and Photos by Alan Ashley
After a few years hiatus due to Covid, W4 Country (102.9) and its “Firehouse Friday” broadcast returned to Chelsea on Friday, April 28.
The “Breakfast With Bubba” morning show hosted its show from 6-9 a.m. at the fire station.
Brian “Bubba” Cowan, the morning host, explained how Firehouse Friday began. Everyone in Chelsea remembers the tragic accident that cost Police Chief Scott Sumner and Fire Captain Matt Tuttle their lives back in 2006. Matt was a close friend of Bubba’s and occasionally helped out on the morning show. He wanted to do something to honor both Matt and Scott, so the week after the tragedy, he brought the morning show to Chelsea. He thought it would be a way for the community to come together, honor both gentlemen, and have an opportunity to grieve together.
The turnout was amazing, especially when radio stations rarely would do a remote broadcast. During the show, Bubba and the station’s general manager realized they had created something special, how local radio should be involved with the community. They took their show on the road for a few more locations that spring. The next year in 2007, they expanded the Firehouse Friday broadcast to ten locations in Washtenaw County, but Chelsea would always be visited every year.
Bubba said the smaller the town, the bigger the deal it was that a radio station was coming to town. One year in Milan, he said they had fireworks and the U-M Survival Flight helicopter made an appearance.
Madison Rally, who handles the traffic reports, joined the morning show in 2016. One of her favorite memories was her first year on the show when they did a segment called “Will it burn?” She said even the firefighters had fun seeing what would burn.
Brian Welch, the station’s meteorologist and the third member of the show, has been working at W4 since 2013. He also married Madison last year. One of his favorite memories was here in Chelsea. He did the “Fireman’s Challenge” against Fire Captain Scott Basar and it took him twice as long.
“Getting out and meeting our listeners is so important. Supporting our communities and first responders is the center on which I have based my show for the last 20 years,” Bubba said. “I am in awe of what these men and women do on a daily basis to improve the quality of life for our communities. Hero is a word thrown around a lot, but there is truly no other word that describes our fire and police services.”
This year they are only visiting five locations, but plan to expand back to 10 next year. One sight that is fun to see is the young children pointing at fire trucks and then getting the chance to climb into one. The smiles are unforgettable. Sometimes they get the opportunity be a “celebrity” when Bubba asks if they want to be on the radio to make memories of a lifetime.
