Firehouse Cookin': Firefighters in Columbia enjoy cooking meals together
Firefighters are hungry, and rightfully so.
With as many as nine calls a day, training and other duties, it’s a wonder they have time to eat, never mind cook.
Columbia’s eight fire stations have between three and six people per 24-hour shift, who rotate in and out at 7 each morning, once every three days.
Do the math.
Firefighters work about 240 hours a month, compared to about 160 for 40-hour-a-week folks.
A fire station resembles a college dorm or a fraternity house. It is a home away from home, another family, another set of mouths to feed.
Lunch is typically the main meal, usually a joint venture, with firefighters on their own for breakfast and dinner.
One of the first tasks of the day is to pool money and put together the grocery list for lunch. Rookies or firefighters with the fewest years on the job are assigned to handle the funds, the list and the purchases.
“The low man on the totem pole does the grocery shopping,” said firefighter Brian Wattenbarger, 32.
Cooks take turns, with the most accomplished pressed into duty more often. Most everyone cleans up.
Here’s a look at how firefighters are fed at two Columbia stations.
Fire Station 3
1000 Ashland Road
During the day’s first shift, firefighter Erik Cranmer, 32, is in charge of the list at Station 3, located across from Ashwood Apartments.
The guys at this station rotate cooking responsibilities in the small kitchen. Some cook more than others, but the responsibility does not rest on a single person.
“There are some people you don’t want to cook,” said Lt. Larry Curtis. “Most people can do a fair job, but there are some that struggle to boil water.”
The others chuckle, remembering pork chops that burned after the crew left for training one afternoon.
Teasing is frequent and lighthearted. The guys crack jokes about Curtis’ addiction to M&Ms and his need for a daily dose. Rumor has it that a sale on chocolate-covered peanuts means an extra request on the grocery list.
“Larry wants $30 in candy today,” said engineer Brian Wasson, 47.
Lunch is at 11 a.m., no later. Besides fighting fires and responding to medical emergencies, these guys are serious about their food.
“The Gerbes ad comes out in the morning, and we look in there. What’s on sale? What can we make? Nothing is ever planned,” said firefighter John Thacker.
Lunch staples include spaghetti, burgers and tots, hamburger pie and steaks. Other favorites are chicken enchiladas with red and white sauce, baked ziti, chicken wings and country-fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy.
When the weather is warm, barbecues are popular. If ground round is on sale, the menu might be burgers with zucchini and corn on the cob.
Before Curtis was promoted, he had more time to grill for the station, a talent he is proud of.
“Ten years ago they nicknamed me the grillmeister,” he said.
Breakfast is a special treat on the weekends, the one time these firefighters go all out. They spend an average of three weekend days together during the month.
“Usually we have eggs — fried, scrambled or cheesy — and sausage or bacon, omelets, biscuits and gravy, sometimes pancakes and hash browns,” said firefighter Brian Wattenbarger.
The guys reminisce about cherry pies, cakes, cookies, fried foods and ice cream, once regular snacks during the day. They’ve sworn off a mix of sweets and downtime as bad for the waistline.
“It runs the gamut on diets around here,” Curtis said. “There is a lot of bad stuff to eat. You sit in here between calls and get kind of nervous wanting something to do.”
Lately, the shift has been working out and making more health-conscious food choices. Salmon and steamed vegetables are increasingly common for lunch. Cereal and peanut butter on toast are popular for breakfast.
“We don’t do too much in the way of fried things,” Curtis said. “We seldom have fried potatoes anymore. Breakfast on the weekends is the most unhealthy meal of the week. We try and eat light the rest of the week.”
Many of them also cook for their families, but transitioning from station to home can be rough, especially when it comes to portion control.
“I’ll come home and the family is like, ‘Oh my gosh, Dad, there is so much food,’” Wasson said. “But it’s because I’m used to cooking for six firefighters, and that’s like a family of 10.”
Regardless, the guys live like roommates. At 11 a.m., food is on the table and Jerry Springer is on TV — emergencies permitting.
Fire Station 7
3601 S. Providence Road
Station 7 near Providence Road and Nifong Boulevard is small, with only three guys on a shift — a lieutenant, engineer and one firefighter. They use one truck with a pump, water tank, hose, ground ladders and an aerial ladder, plus a bus for extreme weather conditions and larger emergencies.
Meals are unpredictable at best. Constant interruptions and the resulting cold meals can be frustrating.
“Usually when I’m at home, I don’t get up or nothing unless the house is on fire,” said firefighter Steve Rhine, 39. “If you didn’t get your drink before I sit down, it’s too bad. I’m not getting up until I’m done.”
The men at the station like to cook chicken, burgers, homemade pizzas and brats. There have been times when a chicken has been cooked three times over and noodles end up soggy. There are, after all, emergencies to attend to.
One popular dish is “glick,” a macaroni-and-cheese dinner with hamburger, onions, mushrooms and peas. To the rest of the world, it’s shepherd’s pie.
“I have no idea where the name came from," said Lt. D.J. Comegys, 54. “It was here when I came over 21 years ago.”
Comegys, a well-traveled college graduate who also served time in the Army, is not ready to let go of the job, even though firefighters can retire after 20 years.
The guys treat one another as family, respect each other’s opinions and think highly of veterans like Comegys.
“I wouldn’t normally say this in front of him, but I enjoy working with this guy,” firefighter Rich Harris, 40, said. “He really knows how to do his job without babysitting.”
It’s generally acknowledged that Harris makes the best spaghetti.
“Nobody in the department cooks spaghetti the same way,” Rhine said. “We can have expensive spaghetti that tastes the same as spaghetti made with Hunts, but Rich has the best spaghetti in the station.”
Harris also makes killer hamburger pie.
“It has tomato sauce, corn, mixed vegetables, and it’s layered with about two inches of mashed potatoes,” he explained. “You put Velveeta cheese on top of that, and some kind of dinner roll goes with it.”
Another version substitutes brown gravy for the tomato sauce. Harris is also known for his corn flake cookies.
Recently, the crew helped the Rock Bridge High School baseball team by cleaning and washing out their dugout. Parents repaid the favor by bringing baked spaghetti, roast, chicken enchiladas, pies, coffee cakes, poppy-seed bread and dozens of chocolate cookies for five days straight to the station. The kitchen was stocked.
The guys who are extremely picky may choose to fend for themselves or bring leftovers from home.
“I cook all the time. I used to bring recipes home from work to try them out at the house,” Harris said. “Baked ziti — my kids love it.”
The lunch cook tends to make enough leftovers for supper, maybe even the next shift.
An unofficial rule across all eight stations stipulates that a firefighter who gets his name in the media must buy a half-gallon of ice cream for the shift.
Looks like plenty of dessert today.
Try this recipe at home!
Rich Harris’ Corn Flake Cookies
6 cups corn flakes
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white corn syrup
1 cup sugar
Put the peanut butter, corn syrup, and sugar in a pan and warm it up (to a boil).
Stir until you pick up the spatula and the mixture drips off. Sprinkle in corn flakes and mix.
Spoon onto wax paper and let cool. Makes about 50 cookies.
Feel free to add chocolate chips, oatmeal, coconut or other baking ingredients.