Firefighters Serve Pancakes at Fundraiser

Even the Jimi Hendrix tunes and melt-in-your-mouth pancakes they were enjoying didn't stop  firefighters from responding to an emergency call during the Hermosa Beach Firefighters Association's 14th annual pancake breakfast fundraiser Sunday.

Aaron Bush, a firefighter and president of the association, said that an elderly person "fell down and hit their head," causing firefighters to temporarily leave the festivities and respond to the person's aid. Switching gears from mingling to managing a crisis did not seem to faze Bush.

"It's the nature of what we do," he said, before adding that the elderly individual recovered from the fall.  "We're always having to be prepared for anything and everything.  Firefighters are good multitaskers."

The fundraiser attracted a large crowd of local residents. Groups of about 40 to 60 people were venturing in and out of the breakfast throughout the morning.

"I think having a community event, it feels very local, very small town, and I think that's very hard to find in L.A.," said Hermosa Beach resident Claudia Mercaeo, who was eating with her husband Danny Faccini and their children. "We come every year to support the firefighters." 

As the family ate, a musical ensemble dubbed Charley Binkow and Friends formed last-minute. Guitarist Charley Binkow, keyboardist and bassist Cole Riddle and drummer Ari Stern played mellow-but-entertaining sets intermittently throughout much of the morning.

"The band fell through that was supposed to play, and they called me up and I got this band together," said Binkow, explaining that he and the others had been playing together as a group for "five minutes."

This fundraiser has raised $5,000 to $10,000 in the past, Bush said. The association will announce Monday how much this year's fundraiser collected.