Biggest fish fry in McNairy County supports the Finger Fire Department

FINGER, Tenn. — People of all ages took advantage of the beautiful afternoon, by filling their plates to support a group of important, local volunteers. The biggest fish fry in McNairy County took place at the Finger Fire Department Saturday.

“I ate chicken, french fries, hushpuppies and fish,” said Levi Turner.

And what about dessert?

“I had cupcakes and cake,” Turner said.

Captain Jacob Mitchell says, people come all the way from Memphis to Mississippi to attend their fish frys. Manceal Kirk says, he’s come every year since the very start.

“I always like to come and meet the people that I know,” said Kirk. “Most of them I don’t know, but a few old timers still live around here.”

Besides the pounds of good food being served right out the fryer, the event is also the largest fundraiser hosted by the fire department.

“The money we will get today is what’s going to pay for training, for fuel, for the power for the firehouse, and all those little things,” said Captain Mitchell.

And members of the community tell us how much they appreciate the efforts and sacrifices of their team, that is strictly volunteer.

“Your pager goes off at 2:00 in the morning,” said Leland Alexander. “You get up, you get dressed, and you go. You don’t hesitate, no matter what the weather might be,”

The captain of the Finger Fire Department says, their fish frys are also a good way to bring them together with the community they serve.

“When you know who’s going to respond and I know who I’m responding to, that just really builds that bond and that trust level between us and the people we protect,” the captain said.

Captain Mitchell said, they plan on having about 1,000 people attend Saturday afternoon, beating the record of 800 they had last fish fry.

“They already said they’re going to have to enlarge the seating for next year because they’re running out of seats so,” Alexander said. “Everything is always good, so I’m not hesitating that it wont be good again this year.”

Captain Mitchell told us by about 4:00 Saturday afternoon, they had already fried up about 300 pounds of catfish, and were most likely going to have to order more.

If you’re interested in an all you can eat fish fry in support of the Finger Fire Department, the captain tells us the next event is scheduled for June 10th.