State Fire Convention Returning to Manchester in 2026

The State Fire Convention is returning to Manchester in two years.

Fire Chief Kevin Graybill says Manchester will host the convention in September 2026. 

This will be the community’s fifth time hosting the event. Past conventions in Manchester included 1995, 2004, 2012 and, most recently, 2019. During that year, firefighters from across the state gathered in Manchester – setting up campsites at the Delaware County Fairgrounds, participating in golf and bowling tournaments and competing in the Iowa Firefighters Association drills downtown, with a parade featuring fire trucks and antique fire apparatus also part of the week’s events. More than two thousand visitors spent time in Manchester during the convention, which lasted several days.

Chief Graybill says details on the 2026 state fire convention in Manchester will be coming as they start the planning process.

archived photo courtesy of Janelle Tucker/KMCH