Area volunteer fire department hosts “Pancakes with Sparky” event

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Sirens were wailing and fire hoses were flowing in full force in the New Hope community early Saturday morning–but not for reasons you may think.

Kylie and Kensley Harris are six-year-old sisters who just recently moved with their family to the New Hope community in Lowndes County.

They came to “Pancakes with Sparky” hoping to make a few new friends.

“We checked out the fire truck and we took a picture with Paw Patrol and we went on the obstacle course and that’s all we did,” said Kylie.

“My favorite part was the obstacle course,” said Kensley.

“Me Too,” said Kylie.

Their mom, Kenyada Harris, said the event is a great way to get to know other members of the community.

“I think it helps people to bond within the community, and I think it brings people together. I think It’s a great project,” said Harris.

Over 150 people showed up throughout the day– most of them were families with young children.

The volunteer firefighters who organized the fun day are hoping to attract another demographic as well.

“Trying to reach more people in the community to hopefully get more firefighters out of it,” said District 3 Fire Chief Wayne Doyle.

“There’s some adults that don’t even know we’re here. They don’t even know that we serve the community. They don’t know when they call 911 that we’re coming, you know, and we’re volunteers. So, for them to know that and meet us personally, it makes a big difference when you show up at their house,” said District Three Captain Brian Barksdale.

Barksdale said the main focus is to teach attendees to be fire conscious.

“If one kid learns anything from us today, you know, we don’t want them to be afraid of us. We also want them to know, hey two ways out, not to be scared of anything we’re doing here… If we save one life just from knowledge of them knowing what’s going on, how to get out, have two ways out, stop drop and roll, set your fire alarms and smoke detectors, that’s all that matters to me,” said Barksdale.

Altogether, the district three volunteer firefighters say they cooked over 700 pancakes and over 300 sausage patties.