Chicamacomico Banks Fire & Rescue’s 2024 calendar is coming, and the pets are stealing the show

The men and women of the Tri-village’s Chicamacomico Banks Fire & Rescue (CBFR) team are once again hard at work on their much-anticipated 2024 calendar, but this time, they are keeping their clothes on, and bringing along their pets.

The fundraising project, which was launched by lifelong volunteer and current Chicamacomico Banks Fire & Rescue Secretary, Elaine Hooper, began in 2020, when the CBFR released its inaugural Burning Love calendar.

The original calendar featured 12 brave volunteer firefighters in “dudeoir” poses, which is a romantic boudoir-style photoshoot, but for men.

Well received by the community, (and especially the women), a Burning Love II calendar was released in 2022/2023, which brought the heat a second time, and resulted in thousands of dollars in donations for the volunteer organization.

But 2024’s calendar is shaping up to be a bit different. Hooper is still behind the lens, arranging intricate poses with the landscapes of Hatteras Island as the backdrop, but instead of sexy firefighters, calendar fans can look forward to seeing the CBFR team’s adorable furry friends – including dogs, cats, and even chickens.

“This year, we took a step back and decided we wanted to do something that was a little more inclusive,” said Hooper. “It’s a lot less dudeoir, and more candid – genuinely intimate versus physically intimate. You get to see a softer side of people when you deal with their pets.”

Most of the human models in the new calendar are fully clothed. “Being half naked with your pet is a little awkward,” said Hooper. “It tends to be best to have your clothes on… when you’re dealing with cats especially.”

But Hooper, who also runs the Hatteras Island Pet Resort, soon discovered that taking photos with pets instead of sexy accessories – like roses or angel wings – was much easier, and resulted in some beautiful calendar shots.

“One of my favorite things working at the Pet Resort is watching big strong men go goo-goo gaga over their tiny puppies,” she said. “It’s sweeter and more vulnerable, and it always makes you smile.”

Hooper has done eight photoshoots for the 2024 calendar so far, and she already has a couple of new favorite models.

“Two of our members are a married couple, and they posed with their dog,” said Hooper. “She was a very timid rescue dog, so seeing her come out of her shell, and looking up at her [mom and dad] and saying, ‘these are my people’ was pretty awesome.”

Hooper’s own dog joined in the artistic process, posing with a new CBFR member on a jet ski on the edge of the Pamlico Sound. “I’m a little biased, but my favorite [model] is definitely my own dog, Baby,” said Hooper, who adopted Baby from the Outer Banks SPCA eight years ago. “She is never afraid to pose. I dressed her up as a stripper once for Halloween, with a blonde wig, gold thong, and money coming out of the thong…. She tolerates dressing up to entertain her mom.”

There are still a few more shoots required to fill out the 12-month calendar, but so far, Hooper has successfully conducted photoshoots with seven dogs, one cat, and six or seven chickens. “We were going to do the chicken [photo] with a baby Canadian goose, but the goose grew up and reached that teenage phase too fast, and decided she didn’t want to be with anyone except her family,” said Hooper. “And we didn’t want a bunch of shots of a goose chasing people.”

As for whether it’s easier to work with animals or humans, Hooper attests that animals are the much better models.

“Animals might not be facing you, but they look cute 100% of the time,” she said. “They always give good face. The humans are thinking about how to give good face, and they are trying very hard, but the animals don’t care, as long as there are treats involved at the end… which there are.”

There is not an official release date for the new calendars just yet, but Hooper is aiming for an August launch. Once published, the calendars will be available for sale at multiple locations, including the Chicamacomico Banks Fire & Rescue Station, Rodanthe Surf Shop, and the Hatteras Island Pet Resort.

While 2024 may not be as steamy as previous years, when the men of CBFR stole the show, the new batch of furry models is sure to be a crowd-pleaser with anyone who appreciates pets of all shapes and sizes – including chickens.

“Who knows what we’ll do next year – we might go back to dudeoir, or we might try something different,” said Hooper. “But including the pets this year has been a lot of fun, and the photos are coming out great.”