MILANO, Texas (KRHD) — The Milano Volunteer Fire Department is hosting its annual auxiliary garage sale, an event that brings the community together while raising crucial funds for local public safety.
Watch the full story here:
With no paid fire departments in Milam County, the volunteer department relies on the biannual sales to replace aging equipment and keep the station running.
"We do a spring sale and an October sale. Each sale brings in about $25,000 for the department and so it's about $50,000 annually," Milano VFD Fire Chief, Kain Dodd said.
Every dollar shoppers spend goes directly back into the fire department to help pay for equipment and other necessities.
"In 2023, we purchased a used fire truck with those funds. So, it allows our department to really grow," Dodd said.
Dodd noted that the funds make a real difference for the county's emergency response capabilities.
"There's no paid fire departments inside of Milam County," Dodd said.
"A lot of our equipment is over 20 years old, and so the garage sale funds is what's going to be replacing those apparatus," Dodd said.
For neighbors in Milam County, the garage sale has become an annual tradition. Shoppers can find a little bit of everything while supporting a vital community resource.
"I enjoy it and look forward for it every year," Milam County resident, April Deloris Melton said.
Melton has been attending the sale for the last five years.
"I got mostly household stuff and I got a few little jewelry and little toys and stuff like that for the kids," Melton said.
Even small purchases help keep the volunteer department ready to respond, a mission Melton is proud to support.
"They put their life on the line and it's, you know, it's exciting to knowing that they are helping, trying to stop this and trying to do that and then we backing them up and helping them too," Melton said.
Saturday is the last day of the garage sale, featuring special deals and discounts throughout the day.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
