Photo by Sefton Ipock

Bryanna Eaves, 9, jumps down an inflatible slide as Marie Fields, 4, watches Friday at the Homeland Park Fire Department's annual 4th of July celebration.

Photo by Sefton Ipock

The Homeland Park Fire Department held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for their new fire truck during their 4th of July celebration.

ANDERSON COUNTY — Only three hours into the day, volunteers at the Homeland Park Fire Department could already call their first 4th of July celebration a success.

The fire department fundraiser had sold roughly 350 barbecue plates, and Chief Ronald Wood was returning from Sam’s Club with supplies to make more beans and sauce. Outside, Reservoir Dogs blared ’70s rock classics while children bounced inflatable castles and slides. In between calls, firefighters took turns in a dunking booth.

There was a steady crowd all day, and money raised during the event will help replenish funds the fire department spent on a new fire truck.

The third engine allows firefighters to carry more men to the scene in fewer vehicles, saving the department’s gas money. It also allows Homeland Park to have a third engine available at the station when the other two are on a call, Wood said.

He’s hoping to make the July 4th celebration an annual event, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone in the crowd who didn’t think that was a good idea. Ernest Lanier and Sarah Stevenson both thought the event was a fun way to spend the afternoon with their grandchildren.

“It’s really good,” Stevenson said. “I hope they raise a lot of money.”

The crowd grew to about 10,000 people as the fireworks got underway at 9:30 p.m. The fire department traditionally shoots fireworks for New Year’s Eve and July 4th, Wood said. Lori Herring, whose son is a Homeland Park firefighter, said people come from as far as Hartwell, Ga. to see the fire department’s display.

“Once you see them, you’ll come back every year,” Herring said.

One spectator said the display was like watching every fireworks finale he’d ever seen for 17 straight minutes.

“Not bad for little ‘ol Homeland Park,” Charles Every said with a smile.