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Fire Station Cooks: A Worthy Tradition

By John Flink

Coronado firefighter James “Pappy” Lynch makes Caesar dressing from scratch. He prefers it without anchovy paste, but he’ll toss in a dollop if somebody asks for it. He can whip up anything his fellow firefighters could want, but mostly they eat whatever he gives them. Happily.

It’s not a tough sell. Pappy’s personal recipe collection includes, but is hardly limited to, seared ahi tuna, fettucine Alfredo, ginger-soy chicken, halibut par-migiana, at least three different sauces for fish tacos and lots of downloaded recipes that originated with Martha and Emeril but have become pure Pappy, judging by the scribbles in the margins.

“I enjoy taking recipes and tweaking them a little and making them my own,” Pappy said modestly one evening while preparing a dinner of coq au vin, “Pappy’s Famous Geezer Salad” (homage to the fact that five-year veteran Pappy, who is not particularly old, came to Coronado with lots of experience from other fire departments), breadsticks, asparagus with hollandaise sauce and his own garlic-and-onion rice pilaf.

“Some of my recipes are rather simple but remarkably tasty,” Pappy explained while chopping ingredients, his mis en place — French for “everything in its place” — betraying a practiced hand. “I just really enjoy good food.”

Cooking is part and parcel of the firehouse mystique. Whether volunteers of times past or the highly trained professionals of today, for hundreds of years the people on standby to fight fires have had to prepare their own meals at the firehouse. If they went home or to a restaurant they wouldn’t be where they need to be when the alarm goes off.

That simple fact has led to a proud tradition of firefighter-chefs and more than a few firefighter cookbooks. Coronado’s 27-member fire department upholds the tradition, with Pappy and a handful of enthusiastic colleagues the guiding lights in a department in which everybody spends time in the kitchen.

“Everybody takes turns but sometimes you’d rather that some guys didn’t,” Capt. James Blinn, a 29-year Coronado firefighter, said with a laugh.

Twice a year the department offers dinner at the firehouse to the highest bidders in the Coronado Schools Foundation charity auction. A recent winner used the dinner as a child’s birthday party. The department tries to spend only about $100 on the meal, which comes out of the firefighters’ pockets.

“I’ve heard that the schools foundation gets $2,000 to $3,000 for our dinners,” said 18-year veteran Mark Price. “They’re very popular.”

Firefighters pay for their own food, and generally try to keep the cost at or below $10 per person, per day. Everybody shops, and bulk items from Costco round out fresh meat and produce from nearby Albertson’s and Von’s.

There are three 24-hour shifts at the department’s headquarters at 7th Street and D Avenue, and each shift has its own “chow locker” in the kitchen to stash the food it chose and paid for. Pilferage was once so common that one shift installed a siren in its chow locker set to go off whenever the door was opened during other shifts, Blinn said.

A condiment fund of $3 automatically deducted from each firefighter's paycheck has largely eliminated the chow locker problem by ensuring a steady supply of foodstuffs everybody uses, such as condiments, spices and staples like peanut butter.

“My mom made us cook when we were kids,” said Rick “No Relation” Lynch, a seven-year veteran. “I’ll do
ricotta-stuffed chicken breasts, mole chicken, pork loin. Whatever’s on sale. I really enjoy cooking, especially when the other guys like it.”

And that’s the key to firehouse cooking. Gathering around the table, participating in each other’s lives. Taking a moment away from the daily rigor of emergency calls, nonstop training and mundane chores that aren't as much fun as preparing a meal for your friends. Brown-bagging isn’t prohibited, but it is frowned upon
because it cuts into the all-important camaraderie, the firefighters on a Saturday shift agreed.

“I do my share of cooking, but mostly I’m an eater,” said Bryan Powell, a 15-year Coronado firefighter. “We have a pretty good bond here around the table.”

Until an alarm comes in. Firefighters drop everything when they get a call, and that can mean meals in the process of being eaten or being cooked. A meal that would normally take an hour to cook and eat can stretch into two or three hours if multiple calls come in. Food sits on plates or in pots until cooks and diners return.

The Saturday shift got lucky. The coq au vin, heavy on bacon and mushrooms, melted away from the bone, the Geezer dressing was pleasantly piquant, the asparagus had just the right crunch and the pilaf was perfect. Everybody was on seconds when the alarm came in — medical aid needed on Orange Avenue.

“You get used to it,"” Pappy said as his colleagues rushed out of the kitchen. “We signed up to be firefighters. The opportunity to cook for each other is just one of the perks.”


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