PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (WSET) — Members of the Brosville Volunteer Fire Department are seeking answers after being removed from the Danville holiday parade on Sunday night.

Buffy Merricks and her son, Avery, along with three children, were ready to participate in the parade when they were unexpectedly asked to leave.

The Merricks family had climbed into the bed of the firetruck, prepared to spread holiday cheer, when they were stopped just as the parade was about to begin. "Our line finally went to go and we rode all the way up Cleveland Street on the top where we were sitting, to go down Main Street, and when we got to the top, they turned us away," Buffy recounted. "They said we couldn't ride on the top of the fire truck."

Buffy expressed confusion over the decision, saying, "Why were we turned away and not others?" Her son Avery added, "Why were we kinda the only ones moved out and not given another option to do something else?"

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Despite asking for clarification on what rules they had violated, the Merricks say they received no clear explanation. Avery described the experience as "kinda hurtful" and noted that it was something that "probably could have been fixed."

Buffy shared her disappointment, saying, "I was heartbroken too because that was a special thing that I was doing with my son, you know, a special moment of the first time we were riding in the parade with the fire department together."

Riverview Rotary President Shakeva Frazier responded to inquiries with a text message stating, "Riverview Rotary aims to host a safe and memorable parade of all spectators, participants, and volunteers." However, she did not address whether the firetruck was deemed unsafe and what the reason was behind the fire department's removal.

The Merricks maintain they did not break any safety rules and are seeking an explanation. Buffy emphasized, "I felt secure. I wasn't moving. I wasn't falling everywhere. I was safely sitting, securely." Avery added, "We were going at a very slow speed and being very cautious being up there."

A review of the Rotary's parade rules revealed no prohibition against adults or children riding in the bed of a firetruck, only that children cannot sit on the edge of a float or in the front of a vehicle.