Detroit Lions and unlimited chili? What more could you want at the annual Detroit Fire chili cook-off

DETROIT - As a child, Timothy Carter was prepared to follow in his dad's footsteps and become a Detroit firefighter.

"My father actually took me to take the firefighter's exam. He took me out of school one day," said Timothy Carter II.

But what Carter was not prepared for was when his father was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and lost his battle the following year. That emotional pain was followed by mounting bills for his funeral service.

"The fund was able to come in and help with everything right away. They gave us the financial support to bury my dad," said Carter.

It's called Detroit Firemen's Fund - a non-profit organization supporting the needs of firefighters and their families. On Sunday, you can provide financial support to this fund during the annual fundraiser, called the First Responder Chili Cook-off.

"Chili cook slash Lion's tailgating, we're gonna have eight big screens TVs, a big stage, a live band," said Captain Christopher Dixon. "We have our trustee here, he's been practicing eating chili right now." 

The initial plan was for firefighters to judge the chili competition, which includes chili cooked by public safety workers.

"I'm a little nervous because people put their heart into these meals and I have to judge," said Captain Arn Nowicki.

But after the spice in one of the options got a little too hot for one established member of Detroit's Fire Department, the judging will now be left up to someone else.

"We're gonna ask everybody to come on down Sunday and we're gonna allow participants to be judged by the public," said Nowicki.

But there's more to this fundraiser than chili - there's also games with an accompanying challenge.

"I want to take a challenge to Ryan Ermanni to come out and play corn hole against Captain Goodhair."

"We're coming down to Eastern Market, Shed 5. The donation is $10 at the door which gets you all the chili that you can eat," said Nowicki.