ADAMS — The 102nd annual Adams Fire Department Labor Day field days is a mix of fun and fundraising.

Children marched a few blocks down East Church Street to the Fire Department field Saturday to kick off the three-day event. Waiting for children to arrive in their military, princess, pirate and dinosaur costumes were members of the Adams Volunteer Fire Department, ready to chat with families about how they’ve been able to host such a large event each year.

“We’ve just been doing this for a long time; it’s tradition,” said Fire Department member Robert D. Simpson. “Money from here goes into our general fund.”

Although many items for the department are purchased through the village’s annual budget, Mr. Simpson said, any extras come from generous community donations.

“To be a fire department, you just need one truck that squirts water, and anything above that makes you an even better fire department, so we can better provide fire protection for our community,” he said.

Within the past year, the village purchased two used firetrucks, but the department had to use about $22,000 of funds it had raised to get the trucks ready for service.

The number of improvements the department can make to its trucks and equipment depends on the success of fundraisers. In the Adams department, there are 55 volunteer firefighters; about 13 young adults ages 14 to 21 participate in the department’s Explorer program.

Marsha Bretsch, LaFargeville, attended the event Saturday with grandchildren Lily Mullin, 2, and Grant A. Mullin, 5, both of Adams.

“They made him Fireman of the Year last year,” Mrs. Bretsch said of Grant.

Grant, son of Erin M. and Allen W. Mullin Jr., was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in July 2011. In the spring, he finished an intense eight-month treatment and is in the maintenance phase, which will continue until September 2014. The Fire Department gave him costume turnout gear and a motorized toy firetruck. Grant used the donated gear as he and Lily participated in the field days parade Saturday.

Grant said he enjoys firetrucks, but he doesn’t get to see his father — a volunteer with the Adams department and a paid firefighter with the city of Watertown Fire Department — dressed in turnout gear very often.

Today and Monday, the field days will have bounce houses for children, rides, carnival-style food, raffles and live entertainment.

Event coordinator Nicole M. Cobb said one of the event’s highlights is a “whacky car smash” from 2 to 6 p.m. today, in which people get to take a sledgehammer to a designated vehicle for $1 a chance. At 7 p.m. today, firefighters will demonstrate an auto extrication so car-accident victims “will know not to panic when they hear our instruments on their vehicle,” Mrs. Cobb said.

For a full list of events, visit the Fire Department website at www.adamsfd.org.

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