Rose Parade float sparks backlash as firefighters asks for 'more syrup'

LOS ANGELES - With just days till the New Year, a Rose Parade float is causing some controversy. 

The Float by the Sierra Madre Rose Float Association features three firefighters gathered around a giant stack of pancakes, pouring syrup over the top with a fire hose, as one firefighter jokes that he needs more syrup. Some Altadena residents say they see a jarring connection between firefighters asking for more syrup on the float and real-life firefighters running out of water during the deadly January wildfires.

What they're saying:

"It's tone deaf. It's hurtful. It's quite dismissive," said Shawna Dawson Beer with Beautiful Altadena.

"No this is not good and perhaps should be changed or at least acknowledged," said Altadena resident Greg Gill. 

Online, the reaction has been harsh, with people saying, "This is so terrible, how disrespectful and tone deaf," and "Fire Themed?! Running out of syrup?! This is SO Wrong."

"It wasn’t just that there was arguably a lack of fire response in our community, but also the fact that there was no water in most of our hydrants so to depict anything where we are running out of liquid is maybe a little tone-deaf this year," Beer added. "I think unfortunately this speaks  to something that we fire survivors have experienced all year and that is a lot of action being taken on our behalf, a lot of assumptions being made on our behalf, and ultimately, all of these folks with the best intentions and biggest hearts just need to actually talk to the survivors. 

The other side:

The Sierra Madre Rose Float Association said it never meant to offend anyone, stressing the float was designed to honor firefighters and celebrate teamwork, not reference the fire. But Altadena residents who lost their homes, like Shawna Dawson Beer, say the association had all year to make appropriate changes and chose not to.