Chief Chuck Brothers walked around the fire station Saturday afternoon attending to whatever needed to be handled. Whether it was bagging up meals to go or chipping in on the line, filling up plates, he worked to ensure the Whaleyville Volunteer Fire Department’s bi-annual fish fry fundraiser went smoothly.

“We do this twice each year, once in May and once in October, to help raise money to update equipment, purchase new equipment, whatever we can do to take the stress off the taxpayers,” Brothers said. “The community has been so supportive of us and this event.”

The funds generated by the two fundraisers are often times used by the department to fund a single capital improvement project, such as this year’s project, upgrading the equipment on the department’s brush truck.

Brothers said the fundraisers bring in more than $7,000 each time, although the May fundraiser is the bigger of the two.

“I would guess we’ve had about 400 people come through in the first hour,” Brothers said. “We should be able to sell about 900 or so plates this time around.”

The fish fry is also in conjunction with a bake sale put on by the Whaleyville United Methodist Women’s organization, a portion of the event Brothers said is so important.

“I know there are a lot of people who simply come out just for the bake sale,” Brothers said.

The chief said the 21-member department responds to between 350-400 calls per year.