It’s the end of the line for the Loretto Fire Department, which has been serving the western Hennepin County community and surrounding area for 75 years.

Loretto is merging with the neighboring Hamel Fire Department to form the new West Suburban Fire District.

On Saturday, the Loretto department will close out its long history with a downtown street dance from 3 p.m. to midnight in conjunction with the Loretto Fun Fest. Fireworks will be shot off at 8:30 p.m.

“We wanted to celebrate the many years of support from the community,” said Fire Chief Jeff Leuer. And kick off “a new chapter in the organization.”

Hamel has had a Fire Department for nearly 90 years, but Leuer said it was time to pair the departments that are just 5 miles apart. Facing a decrease in firefighters, putting the departments together will give the West Suburban Fire District a healthy staff of 50 paid on-call firefighters to cover a 50-square-mile area that includes all or parts of Loretto, Independence, Medina, Greenfield and Corcoran.

The Loretto Fire Department responds to 600 to 700 calls a year, Leuer said.