Firefighters will be cookin'

More than 200 Boston butts, 48 gallons of beans, 230 pounds of slaw and about 70 dozen buns are just waiting to be eaten Saturday.

Gaffney firefighters have gathered 11 cookers and lined them with hickory wood in preparation of a barbecue fundraiser for one of their brothers, Gaffney firefighter Josh Rogers who is undergoing treatments for cancer.

Approximately 125 Boston butts have already been sold, leaving enough barbecue for about 750 plates.

The sale begins at 8 a.m. Saturday.

"When you have one of your brothers in need, you do what you can to help," said Gaffney firefighter Gary McCurry.

Rogers is a three-year veteran with the Gaffney Fire Department. He has also volunteered for six years with the Goucher-White Plains Fire Department and has climbed the ranks there to captain.

Members of the GoucherWhite Plains department will be assisting Gaffney firefighters in the fundraiser, along with some City of Gaffney employees. Off-duty Gaffney firefighters are also helping, either by fixing plates or by working extra hours to run calls while the on-duty firefighters tend to the barbecue.

"He really puts his heart into it," said Goucher-White Plains Chief Jimmy Lamb about Rogers. "Not a whole lot of people work a full-time job and then want to do that same job for free somewhere else. It speaks volumes for him.

"Josh was a recipient of the medal of valor for our fire department for a water rescue on Oak Dale Road on Oct. 7. Two teenagers were trapped in a car that was swept off downstream during the flood. We put Josh in the water to retrieve them," Lamb said.

Rogers is thankful for the support from his coworkers, friends, family and community members.

"I want to thank everybody involved and everybody who's been thinking about me and praying for me," Rogers said. "Firefighting is something I've always wanted to do. Me and the guys on my shift, we pretty much live together 120 days a year. There's definitely a brotherhood between all the firemen up there. We're all there for one another for whatever we might need, we're always there to help."

Barbecue plates are $6.50 in advance and $7 at the door and will include baked beans, slaw and a roll.

Eat-in or pick-up times will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Gaffney Fire Department at 205 N. Limestone St.

Tickets may be purchased in advance from any Gaffney firefighter or by calling the Gaffney Fire Department at 487-8516.