Families filled their plates with lobsters, New York strip steaks and corn on the cob at Stepney Firehouse No. 1 for the fire company’s Lobster Clambake fundraiser Saturday afternoon.
Tables were set up inside the bays and volunteers worked at serving stations, while men steamed lobsters and grilled steaks outside. It was the annual event’s 18th year.
“I’ve been running the event the last 10 years, getting all the permits, the liquor, the health and managing everything,” said Bill Truini, a level two firefighter. “The best thing about our event is we have grandchildren working with grandparents. We have third, fourth generation firemen, whose names go back to the beginning: 1917. The people love it.”
The men and women of Stepney Volunteer Fire Department work the entire weekend, preparing and setting up for the event on Friday, running it on Saturday, then cleaning up on Sunday.
“It’s a family event here,” Truini said. “We’re a volunteer organization, so we don’t have much money. We have to fundraise to fund the department.”
The Lobster Clambake is Stepney’s only fundraiser.
