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MOSES LAKE — Earl and Vickie Hubsmith have been attending the annual Moses Lake Fire Department firefighter’s breakfast every year since it began.

“It’s one of our annual rituals,” Earl Hubsmith said.

The Hubsmiths are longtime Moses Lake residents and have been connected to the community through their jobs — both worked for Cenex — and friends.

“We enjoy socializing and the breakfast,” Vickie Hubsmith said. “We know a lot of the firemen, too. They were our customers.”

The 5:30 a.m. start saw just a few people trickle in according to organizers.

“We were hoping to get a few more hunters,” Sandy Millspaugh said. The breakfast coincided with the opening day of hunting season and Millspaugh said they had about four hunters come in first thing for breakfast.

Millspaugh is the volunteer president.

She said the funds raised from this year’s breakfast would go toward fire fighting equipment and fire prevention education.

“We try to raise funds for items not in the budget,” Millspaugh said. She pointed to a set of free weights and said gear bags were examples of items purchased in the past.

As the morning went on, the crowd expanded, with four firefighters manning the grills that cooked up pancakes, hash browns, eggs and ham, and another four volunteers serving.

Tim Prickett arrived for his breakfast before heading to the farmers market.

“I try to make it every year to support the community,” Prickett said. “Firemen know how to put on a breakfast.”

Other attendees, like Trisha Roy, arrived with children and friends in tow.

“This is the first time I’ve been here,” Roy said. She joked that her friend called her and told her they were heading to the breakfast.

“We came out to support the local fire department,” Roy said.