Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, local firefighters square off in third annual Fire and Ice charity basketball game

The Team Fire basketball squad made up of local firefighters won big 75-56 over the Team Ice squad composed of Thurston County Sheriff’s Office employees in the third annual Fire and Ice charity basketball game at Tumwater High School Saturday night.

But the firefighters were far from the biggest winners of the evening.

The event raised nearly $9,000, giving underserved children in Thurston County the opportunity to participate in the Shop With a Cop event. That’s about $2,000 more than funds for last year’s event, which allowed 40 children from Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County and Family Support Center to purchase $200 worth of gifts for themselves and their families.

Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders returned to his alma mater, where he played basketball for the Thunderbirds.

“It was a packed gymnasium with people coming out to celebrate and do something good for the community for a good cause. It’s pretty fulfilling,” Sanders said.

The event featured an intense basketball game, which saw Team Fire win for the second time in three years, along with a performance by the Tumwater High School dance team and raffles. Prizes included ridealongs with the sheriff. Lacey Professional Firefighters Local 2903 pitched in with a $2,000 check for the Shop With a Cop event, and Kaufman Construction donated money for every basket scored.

Now down 2-1 in the Fire and Ice series, Sanders hopes his squad can regroup next year. What will it take to do so?

“Cardio,” Sanders joked. “I’m out of shape. I’m huffing it right now. My whole body hurts. We’ll come back next year and compete.”