The life of a firefighter can be many things. Within that life, exists a special connection among the peers who share the title. An understanding of friendship that extends beyond the term co-worker.
The firefighters of the Auburndale, Lake Wales and Winter Haven stations all share that understanding. They are each a family - and they all find value in a good meal shared at one large dinner table.
While all three stations operate in similar fashion - such as shifts of 24 hours on then 48 hours off and routine job functions - when it comes to food, they each have their own style.
For the Auburndale fire station's C shift, each firefighter spends some time in the kitchen.
"We're a smaller department with six guys per shift," says Auburndale fire Capt. Ronnie Hall. "We pretty much chip in and do it all - a little bit of everything."
Hall says the shift firefighters will go through their normal routine of taking care of the trucks and other responsibilities, and then they will come together to agree on what they want to eat. Once they decide what they want, the firefighters will go to the store and get what they need to cook for the day. But if there is a day where they receive a lot of calls, they may run and pick up something quickly.
"We all eat together most of the time," firefighter Robert Barrington says. "We'll all eat at the table, even if we're eating something different. Or after our trucks, we eat breakfast at the same time."
Hall says that he and his fellow firefighters have certain things they have to do when they come on duty before they are able to take a meal break. They are responsible for making sure the equipment is ready to go in the event they get a call.
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Auburndale firefighters, from left, Lt. Nick Snyder, Capt. Ronnie Hall, Jeremy Dunaway, Robert Barrington and Jonathan Barr pull out leftovers for an Italian-style supper at the Auburndale Fire Department.
Paul Crate / News Chief |
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"It happens all the time," Hall says. "Right at shift change, we'll get a call. We try to have everything set up and our gear inspected and ready to go when we get that call."
But what does a typical menu include? While a fair variety of entrees, such as sausage bread, make it to the plate, there are many recurring favorites.
"We do a lot of grilling," Hall says. "Chicken, hamburgers and steak."
To feed a typical shift of six, they usually try to get 3 to 4 pounds of meat for hamburgers, or a couple of packs of chicken quarters. If steak is on the agenda, the guys usually will pick out their own.
At the Lake Wales fire station, the home-away-from-home environment of the kitchen and dining table is equally present. The atmosphere is comfortable, and each firefighter on the station's C shift knows his way around the kitchen. On a typical steak night, each of them has his own contribution to the overall meal, and all the firefighters can move easily in a busy kitchen as they work together to create a hearty meal.
Firefighter Brian Patterson says the planning starts early.
"It usually takes all day to agree on something," Patterson says.
The Lake Wales station typically has a shift of eight people who operate out of both the main station and a nearby substation.
"It's just like feeding a family of seven or eight," says firefighter Aaron Prevatte. "What we do is put everything in and divide it among us as far as paying. We'll have a nice salad, steaks, potatoes and sometimes dessert."
They even have their own cookbook, created several years ago from contributions of the firefighters' various family members.
"On the weekends sometimes, we'll cook breakfast, or we'll go down to the local restaurant for a big breakfast," Patterson says. "A lot of times, it is real hectic around lunch time and we have to get something quick. But then for dinner we try to cook."
Patterson often makes a salad from an aunt's recipe that was inspired by a local restaurant.
But even as the shift firefighters sit down to eat, they can always get that next call. A beep will sound on their radios and they will instantly rise to their feet, ready to head out the door and do what they do best.
"A lot of times, we'll sit down with a hot meal and have to leave it on the table," Prevatte says. "It's not fun, but it happens."
And other times, they can simply enjoy the rewards of a well-prepared meal.
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In the garage, firefighters Brian Patterson, right, and Vince Garrett deep-fry potatoes for supper.
Paul Crate / News Chief |
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For the Winter Haven station's B shift, the family mentality also is shared with a meal. The shift typically includes between eight and 11 firefighters.
"There's a big table in there and that's where we eat," firefighter Scott Topper says. "We're family. You know you are gonna spend a third of your life here for the next 25 years, so you've got to learn to get along. It's just a tradition that started here. If I cooked, people showed up to eat. So traditionally, yes, we always sit down together."
Topper and firefighter Artie Fay typically lead the culinary efforts at the Winter Haven station, though others may take their turn in the kitchen.
"There's five or six of us here that can cook. You have to learn to cook when you're here 24 hours," Topper says. "We're not big fans of pizza or subs, so we do $10 per person per shift and we can eat pretty good."
Topper says they keep a running amount, too, and when that gets large enough, they'll buy a whole rib roast and make a prime rib or cut it into ribeyes. The topic of food usually comes up during the morning meeting.
"We'll cover whatever we have on the schedule as far as training, and when we get done with that we'll say 'OK, what does everybody want to eat?' That's when we throw our money in," Topper says.
"We eat well," Topper says.
In addition to their chef skills in the fire station kitchen, Topper and Ray, along with Chief Tony Jackson, have taken it even further by creating their own barbecue cooking team.
"We got started doing a chili cookoff after Sept. 11 at the Citrus Festival," Topper says. "That's how we got into competition cooking, and now we're on the Florida Barbecue Association and have also started our own that only allows charcoal and wood."
Amid both the similarities and differences of the three stations, one strong commonality stands out: The firefighters all share an appreciation for great food, and they all highly value the family atmosphere that results from sitting down together to enjoy a home-cooked meal of their own creation.
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