Firefighters substituted their hoses for fishing poles Wednesday.
Several Lansing area firefighters gathered for the first "Firefighters Fishing For Kids" event at Lake Ovid in Sleepy Hollow State Park, 7835 Price Road, in Laingsburg.
Proceeds from the event benefit Ele's Place, a Lansing charity that provides support for grieving children and their families, and the VFW National Home for Children, a Eaton Rapids-based residential child care agency.
Firefighters from Delta Township, East Lansing, Lansing, Lansing Township and Meridian Township fire departments met at the lake at about 5 a.m. to begin loading boats into the water.
Rob Thompson, a Lansing Township firefighter and media coordinator for the event, said area firefighters fished for about six hours.
After fishing, the firefighters and guests went to the Island Pavilion at the park for official weighing of the fish caught, and dinner, which featured an 80-pound roasted pig sponsored by Lansing fire Lt. Ron Finley.
Lansing firefighter Kevin Walkington said once he heard about the event, he immediately agreed to participate.
"It's for the kids, so I'm in," Walkington said.
Lansing firefighter Scott Halligan said this was a chance for him to help children and have fun at the same time.
"We get to have a good time," Halligan said. "After we're done having our fun, we get to help the children, and that's what it's all about."
The firefighters plan to have this event every year for at least 10 years. They also said they hope to receive more community support for the event.
The firefighters will select different organizations to donate to as the program continues. Firefighters also said they hope to place a fire boot in each station for the community to put donations in.
"We chose Ele's Place because it helps kids and with the recent war, we thought the VFW would be another good choice," said Dan Komm, Lansing firefighter and chairman of the event.
Even though this was the first year of the fishing event, Thompson was pleased with the participation.
"We had a great response. There were 25 boats and well over 50 people that came out," Thompson said.
Firefighters agreed a program like this will allow them to come together and continue to support local charities.
"It brings the community together for a good cause,"Thompson said. "And what cause is better than kids?" Thompson said.
