Friends of the Columbia Fire Department will be hosting its first-ever Benefit Ride July 19 in an effort to purchase new equipment.
The only fundraisers the CFD have done previously were with the Clydesdales, which is no longer an option. Several members of the department who ride motorcycles together were talking about what they could do to raise extra money during their last bike trip and came up with the idea of hosting a benefit ride.
Capt. Nathan Guy received the green light from Columbia Fire Chief Lyle Berard and the City of Columbia to host the event and put the wheels in motion.
“We all love riding bikes, so we decided let’s do it,” Guy said.
Guy said there are certain tools the firefighters of the Columbia Fire Department want to be able to utilize to help save lives, but the process to purchase equipment through the city takes time and oftentimes requires grants.
“There’s a whole process you have to go through just to purchase a $200 tool. So we all get together and want to purchase it out of our own money,” he explained. “That’s what this is going to — tools that we think will make our job easier.”
Guy said Friends of the Columbia Fire Department have purchased a few tools in use currently by the department and that there are new tools being invented every day that could help firefighters save lives.
The ride will begin at Station 1 at 801 Pearl St. and proceed on U.S. 98 to Tylertown, Mississippi 27 to Monticello, Mississippi 43 to Oak Vale and Mississippi 13 back into town before finishing at City Park.
There will be an impromptu car and bike show at the park following the ride with either a DJ or live band. Raffle drawings and a silent auction will also be used to raise money, as will chicken plates.
Registration for the event begin at 8 a.m., the ride will start at 10 a.m. and the goal is to be back at the park by noon.
