SOUTHMAYD, Texas (KTEN) — It's been a cold week, so why not warm up Saturday morning with a pancake breakfast for a good cause?

"Unfortunately, emergencies don't care about the economy," said Southmayd Volunteer Fire Department Chief Brent Thetford. "Calls keep coming in; our expenses associated with making calls doesn't go down because of the economy ... We have equipment that breaks down, gets used up, that we have to replace and repair. So we still have the same operating costs as a big metropolitan department... just without the payroll."

To raise money so they can keep answering those calls, Southmayd volunteers are hosting what they hope will be the first annual Pancake Day Breakfast  Saturday morning at Southmayd Baptist Church.

"For $7, you get a full pancake breakfast with eggs, sausage and bacon... the whole 9 yards," Thetford said. "It starts at 8 o'clock, and we'll go until we either run out of people or run out of pancakes."

The chief said you can pay with cash or card... he just wants people to come hang out in good company.

"Show up expecting to meet members of your fire department, the ladies and gentlemen that volunteer their time and talent and effort to make these calls at all hours of the day in all types of weather. Once you sit down, you don't have to get up. We'll have firefighters walking around, talking with you, bringing you refills of coffee and orange juice."

The volunteers are thrilled to carve out some time dedicated to building relationships with the people they serve.

"They are a wealth of knowledge, and are very excited to meet the members of the community and share a little bit about what we do at the fire department and what it takes to keep us running."