LEYDEN — To celebrate an eightfold increase in firefighters and the addition of three vehicles, the Leyden Fire Department is hosting an open house on Saturday, Aug. 3, from noon to 3 p.m.

“The Fire Department had dwindled to just one member, which is a common problem for rural communities,” said Fire Capt. Tom Raffensperger. “In just over a year, we’ve gone from one firefighter to eight and we’ve gone from one fire truck to four useful vehicles — three of them are fire trucks and one is a crew vehicle.

“The community came together … and that’s why we want the open house — to say thank you to the community,” Raffensperger added.

He expressed gratitude to the community as a whole, as well as several individuals, including state Sen. Jo Comerford, who got the department a $100,000 earmark; Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro, who helped with securing equipment for the department on an emergency basis; and Congressman Jim McGovern “for his support of rural communities in western Massachusetts,” Raffensperger said. The three politicians will be attending the open house.

Raffensperger also thanked Public Safety Advisory Committee Chair Elizabeth Kidder, who helped secure grants, and Leyden’s Selectboard and Finance Committee.

The open house will also function as a means to further recruit new members. Despite the immense progress made in the past year toward expanding the department, it is still short of the goal to have at least 10 members.

“Everyone is welcome,” Raffensperger said. “We’d like folks to come learn more about what we do, talk to our firefighters, and we’ll see if we can get anyone interested in joining.”