Firefighters respond early to breakfast fundraiser
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ARLEE – Firefighters started pouring pancake batter over hot griddles at 7 a.m. on the Fourth of July to raise money for department expenses.
“I started making coffee at 5:30 a.m.,” said Dane Morigeau, firefighter and public information officer.
Last year, Morigeau said a crowd of more than 1,000 people filtered through the old fire hall building during the morning for the five-dollar pancake, eggs and sausage breakfast. People also bid on several auction items.
“This year we’ve got a pretty good crowd,” he said of the people lined up around the fire hall parking lot. “We depend on all these people and the volunteers to help keep the department going.”
The money from the breakfast is used to supplement the tax revenue the department gets each year.
“We get our tax money but this helps buy equipment like broken hoses,” said Firefighter Drew Hendrickson. “We also like to buy specific items with the donation money like the defibrillator.”
During the breakfast, Hendrickson wanted people to get the full effect of being in a fire hall so he sounded the alarm siren. Firefighters knew they didn’t need to drop everything to go to an emergency so they responded back to the alarm with a “yahoo.”
“It’s always a tradition for him to sound that alarm,” said firefighter and event coordinator Heidi Schlieker. “He always loves doing that for the people.”
Firefighter Steve Minez stood at the back counter behind the grill stirring up pancake batter one extra big bag at a time.
“I’m used to stirring things up,” he said with a smile.
Minez said the adrenaline rush created from responding to an emergency has kept him going for the past 20 years, but it hasn’t been easy.
“You just respond. You go on automatic pilot. It’s not until you see the white sheets that it hits you,” he said of seeing fatalities.
Responding to an emergency can take a mental toll on responders. During an incident in the past, the entire department was required to undergo counseling, he said.
“Sometimes they see things,” he said. “It’s good to hear about how other people feel in those situations.”
Firefighter Ken Light said the department continues to expand with a goal of getting more water to a scene.
“We’ve added trucks that haul more water but we’d like to get a trailer to haul another 6,000 gallons,” he said. “Everything depends on how much water we can put on a fire. Without water we are a bunch of guys just standing around with a lot of equipment.”
Volunteers are another thing the department needs.
“Volunteerism is going away in the U.S.,” he said. “People don’t have time. They have two jobs and need to travel to those jobs. It’s a result of this economy. Every department scrambles to get volunteers.”
Light said many volunteers would like to retire someday.
“Many people in the department are pushing 60,” he said. “It’ll be a big problem when we all retire but we’ll have to eventually. This is a young man’s game out hauling hose in the heat. The number one killer of firefighters is heart attacks. It’s hot, stressful and dangerous. It’s a tough job but we need people to do it.”
Morigeau explained that volunteering develops a sense of connection to the community and camaraderie among volunteers.
“It’s a commitment (we make) to the people,” he said.
