SILVERHILL, Ala. — Tradition says: If you want the best home cooking in any community, head to the firehouse.

That’s a tradition that will be put to the test during Silverhill’s Heritage Day festival Oct. 19 when more than 10 teams of firefighters will labor to create the region’s best “fire house chili” during Heritage Day. This will be the second year the Silverhill Volunteer Fire Department has sponsored the competition.

“It’s a good community activity,” said Gary Patrick, chief of the SVFD.

“We clear the bays out and the guys cook right there,” said Greg Thomas, a Silverhill resident and a member of the SVFD in a phone interview. Thomas says he brought the idea up two years ago, and it has been embraced by the 19-member department.

Best of all, you can buy a taste of the all competition chili for a small sum. That enables you to be one of the judges, and you will be able to vote for your favorites. The judging begins at 11 a.m., perfect for lunch.

“We have 4-ounce cups of each chili in the competition,” said Thomas who added that “10 to 20” teams of chili makers are expected, and that there will be “about 20” trucks from those departments on display near the firehouse.

But, isn’t chili spicy? Mouth-burning, even? Grab the cold water.

Relax. For those without asbestoes-lined palates, Thomas says there's a “hot” and mild” division.

You can also have lunch at the firehouse. Not to worry, the SVFD will be selling their own mild “kid friendly” chili for the lunches. There will be sweet tea and ice cream for sale as well.

“The public does the taste testing and the judging,” said Thomas. “We don’t have a panel of judges, just the vote of the people.”

The reward for the “best overall” chili is a stunner.

“The trophy is huge,” said Thomas. “It’s a 3-gallon cast iron pot on an oak stand.”

Currently, the Summerdale Volunteer Fire Department has the pot. Whether they have to turn it over to another department remains to be seen.

“The competition has been growing nicely,” said Thomas. “The best part of it is having our department reach out to other fire departments, and have the community come together.” This is important, Thomas added because most of the time, members of fire departments only see each other at fires and at training sessions.

Even better, Thomas says, is that, “The public really enjoyed the competition.”

And the firefighters liked it as well.

“The best part was awarding the trophies,” said Taylor. “There was so much trash talking going on.”

At the same time, Taylor says, “It was a wonderful thing seeing the public in the fire station, talking to us and sharing fellowship with other firefighters.”

In fact, the public will have a chance to do more than eat 5-alarm chili.

“We will have fire fighters at tables to talk with people, and we’ll show them what’s in the trucks. We’d rather people asked questions. We want them to know what is what.”

The SVFD has some plans for the proceeds from the chili competition.

“We are starting a program for people unable to purchase smoke and carbon monoxide detectors,” Taylor said. “We will buy them and install them. Silverhill Elementary needs a new sign and we want to give to the ball fields. They always need something.”