Friday, December 26, 1997
Firefighters enjoy 'home-cooked' meal Christmas
By TANYA EISERER Staff Writer
Station 5's eight firefighters merrily feasted on a hearty
Christmas meal Thursday afternoon and then settled in to "graze"
for the remainder of their shift.
The firefighters, assigned to work their usual 24-hour shift,
enjoyed a "home-cooked" meal of honey ham, buttered
potatoes, corn and an array of desserts.
"Most of our families have other stuff going, so we're
just having a good dinner together," said Abilene Fire Lt.
Dennis Haas, noting that sometimes their families spend Christmas
and other holidays at the fire station.
At noon, Haas, Lt. Albert Wilhite and the other men - Charles
Galco, Danny Taylor, Todd Altum, Junior Ramirez, Jeffery Jones
and Larry Ross - gathered around a large table and prayed for
the absence of tones that would force them to abandon their meal.
"Most times you can pretty much count on" being called
out, Haas explained.
Haas said the two companies at the station, located on East
North 16th and Judge Ely, were pleased they only had worked one
medical call to that point. Holidays, he noted, often can be a
time of sadness as on Thanskgiving when firefighters from a different
shift worked a fatal fire at a mobile home in north Abilene.
"We've been lucky," Haas said. "We've only had
two alarms. It's been fairly quiet."
Throughout the meal, the firefighters poked fun at each other
and told "war" stories as they ate.
"What we'd planned today is a fairly big meal at lunch
so we could graze the rest of the day," Haas said.
After lunch, the men cleared the table; Taylor washed the dishes;
and Altum and Jones cleaned the counters and stove.
"We have to be ready to go," Galco explained. "We
have to be prepared."
Ross joked that some of their medical calls might end up being
people who had eaten too much.
"There's a lot of people who've fallen from the table
and can't get up," he said.
The men then settled into their recliners to sample pies, cookies,
fudge and ice cream. Haas' wife, Teresa, also stopped by to bring
more goodies and Christmas cheer.
"I was snuggled up by the fire," Teresa Haas said.
"I just thought I'd bring ya'll some pie."
Despite the camaraderie, it doesn't make it any easier to be
away from their families, the men said.
"Christmas is a tough time because people have kids at
home," Wilhite said. "It really takes a special woman
to be married to a fireman."
Haas added that most firefighters and their families have grown
accustommed to their unusual schedule.
Most had already eaten Christmas dinner and opened presents
before coming to work.
"I got up early this morning with my kids and opened them,"
Jones said.
Ross said he and his family changed their tradition this year
by opening presents Christmas Eve.
"We usually do it early Christmas morning," he said.
"But I've got three teen-agers, and they voted not to get
up early. That was fine with me because I've got to sleep in."
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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