The Trenton Volunteer Fire Department was heavily affected from Hurricane Florence in September, using trucks and school buses to save more than 200 residents during the storm. The building was heavily damaged from the flooding and the auction on Jan. 12 will assist in purchasing equipment. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News

TRENTON | A great opportunity to assist the Trenton Fire Department — along with find a plethora of materials — will occur Jan. 12.

The 47th annual Trenton VFD Farm Equipment and General Auction will be held at the Jones County Fairgrounds, starting at 8:30 a.m., located on King Street in Trenton. Admission is free and about 40 vendors are projected to be on hand, with 5,000 items set for the flea market and 1,800 items for auction, including household items, food, televisions, trucks and industrial equipment.

There will also be chicken and barbecue plates for sale, with 38 hogs and 900 chickens being prepared.

Charles Jones, the coordinator of the event, said the auction will go a long way toward helping the department recover after the devastation from Hurricane Florence.  

“This is the only fundraiser the Trenton Volunteer Fire Department has to raise money,” Jones said. “The station is practically destroyed because of the flood and this will help us pay for things we lost. Thankfully, we didn’t lose any trucks, but we lost equipment like air breathing pumps, uniforms, boots and other gear. We also need to buy another air charging system and a generator.”

Jones said the department is looking to relocate after the third time being flooded in the past 20 years. Currently, the Trenton VFD is still using the building.

“We’re temporarily using the building,” Jones said. “When the hurricane hit, we had to move everything to Brock Motors and operated there for about two weeks. At our department, we’ve had to patch up the roof, but right now we’re trying to move to higher land. We understand the auction won’t get us all the way to our goal, but it will help us a great deal.”

Items can be brought to the fairgrounds to sell on Thursday and Friday. There’s a $5 registration fee with 10 percent commission to be taken up to $250. The barbecue pork and chicken plates cost $8 and include cole slaw, potato salad, hushpuppies and dinner rolls.

For more information, contact Jones at 252-448-2161 before 6 p.m. and either 252-448-4161 or 252-448-4441 after hours.