Switching from a sit down to drive-through event didn’t stop Washington residents from coming out to get their fill of breakfast food at the Washington Fire Department’s annual pancake day last week.
This was the second year for the pancake day being held at the new fire station, though the pancakes, sausages, and eggs were served in to-go boxes to those driving by on East Jefferson Street. Traffic occasionally had to be divided into two lanes that were coned off on the street for the lunch and supper shifts, and Fire Chief Brendan DeLong says about 40-45 volunteers were on hand making the event run as smoothly as possible, “It takes a few more, all of our firemen are here, we have some of their wives come and help us too, so it takes a few more to run a takeout than it does just a normal sit down.”
Washington-area residents can get a hefty lunch or supper to-go from the Washington Fire Department tomorrow.
The annual pancake day is taking place from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. at the fire station, but this year the pancakes, eggs, and sausages will be served strictly to go in a drive-through fashion from East Jefferson Street. Fire Chief Brendan DeLong says the proceeds from this fundraiser goes toward new equipment and training for the department’s volunteer members, “This fundraiser is by far the biggest one for us for the year. We have a couple others usually throughout the year, but with the COVID-19 pandemic going on a couple of those are cancelled already so we’re kind of relying on this one to support us for the year.”
An annual tradition in the city of Washington continues next week, with some changes because of COVID-19.
The Washington Firefighter’s Pancake Day is taking place from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 13th, but this year the meal will be served exclusively through a drive up on East Jefferson Street. Fire Chief Brendan DeLong shares how the pandemic affected the planning of the department’s biggest annual fundraiser, “We really talked it over on our fire department whether we were going to have or whether we were not going to have it, and we kinda looked at what surrounding departments were doing for their fundraisers and thought that we could safely do a takeout only option or a drive through.”
A house fire was confined to a chimney Wednesday morning in Washington.
Washington Fire Chief Brendan DeLong tells KCII at about 9:03 a.m. the department was called to a smoke-filled residence at 1293 South Avenue E. Firefighters found flames coming out of the chimney and extinguished the fire. Minimal damage was incurred to the home, and crews left the scene around 10 a.m. All occupants had exited the home and no injuries were reported. Washington County Ambulance Service and Alliant Energy also responded to the scene.
Previous Story