Pineville firefighters are betting that a bowl of delicious hot chili will be the winning ticket at a new fundraiser they're launching this month.
The first-ever chili/spaghetti fundraiser will take place from 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Pineville Community Center.
Cost for the all-you-can-eat event is $5, which also includes a drink.
As part of the fundraiser, firefighters also will sell chances for a Diamondback AR-15 rifle. Tickets are $10 each. Only 250 tickets will be sold.
Funds raised will tremendously boost the Pineville Rural Fire Department, said Pineville fire chief Gregg Sweeten.
"We are starting this other fundraiser because we have purchased a new 2018 Chevy truck to be turned into a brush firefighting truck," he said. "The cost of the truck was just over $25,000 and it will bring us up-to-date with a good, dependable brush truck. During the spring and fall, most of our calls are brush- or grass-related fires."
Fire department crew members are also in the process of purchasing several new sets of bunker gear. Each set costs approximately $1,500, which only includes the coat and pants. Gloves, hoods, boots and helmets have to be purchased at an additional cost.
Purchasing quality gear is of utmost importance, Sweeten said.
"We try to keep our firefighters outfitted with the best gear we can. Their lives, as well as yours, depend on good quality and safe bunker gear."
Pineville Rural firefighters respond to calls throughout the city of Pineville and surrounding areas, as well as answer mutual aid calls from all surrounding departments.
The department, which averaged more than 400 calls in 2016, is a membership- and fundraiser-based operation, Sweeten said.
The department is not supported by a tax base, he added.
As folks experience cost-of-living increases each year, firefighters are no exception. Firefighters experience a continual increase in their cost of operations.
"The cost of vehicle maintenance and the cost of firefighting equipment continue to rise each year, and a big chunk of our funds raised go to these two categories," Sweeten said.
General News on 01/04/2018