At the top of the aerial ladder of a bright red fire engine, a firefighter wrangles a hose. The spout does not pour water but syrup, which comes from a large bottle. A stream of viscous liquid is directed into a large stack of cakes 9 feet high.
The “Pancake Breakfast” is one of several floats expected to roll through Pasadena on New Year’s Day in the annual Roses Parade. It was built by volunteers from Sierra Madre, a small town at the foot of a hill that narrowly escaped the devastating Eaton fire, which devastated Altadena in January.
This project is intended to honor the first responders and their role in protecting the city, referring to the public pancake breakfast that for decades has been a common practice in many cities and towns to raise funds for equipment, training, and fire safety programs while also helping to build bonds between residents and firefighters.
But some residents of Altadena said the design – and especially the sound feature, when a firefighter asks for more syrup – is annoying, because during the devastating fire many hydrants in the area went out.
“To show anything where we’re running out of fluid is probably a little tone-deaf this year,” Shawna Dawson Beer, a community blogger about Altadena, told Fox 11.
“I think that unfortunately this speaks to something that we survivors of the eviction have faced throughout the year and there are many measures taken against us,” said Beer. “In the end, all these people with good intentions and big hearts just need to talk to the survivors.”
Three active firefighters from Sierra Madre will be stationed on the float the day of the parade, he said.
“I’m very sorry that anyone had any stress about the float,” Shaffer said, adding that he felt that not all of the information shared on social media was “completely accurate” and that descriptions of the sound of the float did not take a humorous tone.
He said, in response to criticism in recent days, the audio dialogue has been removed.
“We don’t want anyone upset. This was not our intention. We removed all dialogue,” Shaffer said. “Now you’ve got a nice sip of syrup on the soundtrack. That’s all.”
Shaffer said association members vote annually on 40 float design submissions that match the theme specified by Tournament of Roses officials. The theme of the 137th Rose Parade is “The Magic in Teamwork.”
It is one of five floats in the upcoming Rose Parade built by volunteers from the communities that support them.
“We are proud of this project because it is a tribute to our first responders,” said Shaffer.
Shaffer said he hopes the changes made will allow people to enjoy floating.
The lead architect of the float, Kurt Kulhavy, told KCRW last week that the purpose of the design was to honor the firefighters without further traumatizing those who lost their homes and loved ones. They chose the easy way.
News of the controversy online has prompted some to speak out in favor of the design.
“I was [a]affected by fires. I’m not angry. There are bigger problems in the world. I think the float is good. Geez,” said one Instagram user.
But a member of the Sierra Madre float group, Dave Andrews, wrote on Facebook last week that he is not a fan of the project and did not vote for it because it “seems inappropriate.”
He said he was upset when he later heard the sound of what he described as a “fake firefight” where a fire engine was sent to a pancake breakfast because it ran out of syrup, and that he and others raised concerns with the board.
In a letter on Sunday, he applauded the exchange for opening up the dialogue.
“Even though some people see it [me] As someone who is bad at speaking my mind, I respect them for making a compassionate decision,” said Andrews.
