Bennet Rural Fire & Rescue holds annual open house, pancake breakfast

BENNET, Neb. (KOLN) - Breakfast smelled pretty good inside the Bennet Rural Fire & Rescue station Saturday morning, as volunteers put on their annual pancake feed and open house.

Dozens of residents from and outside of Bennet showed up for a fresh-cooked meal, opportunities to ask questions and chat with volunteer firefighters, learn about everything currently going on for the fire department, and check out other agencies that were on hand providing educational opportunities.

Fire Chief Tim Norris says the annual event is their most important of the year and one of the biggest ways to say thank you to the community for their constant support.

“It’s kind of like 4th of July, Super Bowl; this is a big time during Fire Prevention Week,” Norris said. “They’ve been doing it longer than I’ve been on, and I’ve been on 20 years. This is a big deal for kids and families.”

Some of the agencies that were on hand presenting demonstrations included StarCare, The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, The Red Cross, The Nebraska State Patrol, Paul Davis Restoration, Lancaster County Emergency Management, Lincoln Electric System, and a team from CHI Health St. Elizabeth’s Burn Unit, among many other organizations.

Another goal for this year’s event was to raise money to help fund the purchase of additional grain bin rescue equipment that will be added to what the department received earlier this year.

“We will have some other fundraisers for our ambulance that we will be getting here next year,” Norris said. “We’re going to have a raffle and auction come December 3rd.”

Norris also stressed the importance of having area farmers stop by to not only get a free breakfast before heading out for a day’s harvest, but to let them know they’re there for them in a time of need.

“This is important for them because they know that we’re there when they have fires and issues in their fields,” he said.

Bennet is not the only volunteer fire department hosting an open house/breakfast event. Waverly Fire & Rescue will hold their open house later this month at the fire station along Highway 6.

Next weekend, Raymond volunteers will hold their annual open house for the public:

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