ARLINGTON — For five dollars and an early morning start, Arlington residents can have a hot breakfast, courtesy of local firefighters.

The Arlington Firefighters Association is hosting its annual Pancake Breakfast at Haller Park to kick off Arlington’s Fourth of July Frontier Days Celebration. Breakfast begins at 7 a.m. and runs until noon.

“We have two breakfast options. There’s pancakes, eggs and sausage or pancakes, strawberries and sausage,” said Branden Bates, assistant fire chief.

The pancake breakfast is in its 29th year and has been serving plates for $5 for as long as Bates can remember. “It’s fun for a lot of people who can come every year,” he said.

“It’s a really great community event,” said Bates. “We just try to support our community.”

The proceeds from the pancake breakfast go back into the Association’s fund to use for expenses throughout the year, including repairs and equipment. “In the past, during Christmas, we have adopted two families in our district,” said Bates, of one way that the money is used. “We find people who are in need and try to give them the best Christmas ever.”

Last year, the breakfast saw more than 1,000 participants and Bates expects to get that number again this year. “For the last several years we’ve served about 1,000 breakfasts.”

For that many hungry guests, they’ll have between 20 and 25 firefighters to cook and serve. “We also have other volunteers like wives, girlfriends, brothers and sisters,” said Bates. “We give them letters of recommendation that show that they helped out the fire department.”

Overall, the pancake breakfast is a great start to the Independence Day celebration and can be a good source of carbohydrates for those participating in the Peddle, Paddle, Puff Triathlon, which will take off from Haller Park at 10 a.m.