Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
First responders chow down in West Grove
Firefighters, emergency services personnel enjoy free turkey dinners
WEST GROVE » It’s not that they have a lot of spare time on their hands. The members of the West Grove Fire Company get calls every day, and some of them are pretty serious. Still, they are committed to fitting into their community with more than just the duties of putting out fires.
Last week they transported Santa Claus and the missus to the tree-
lighting ceremony in the middle of the borough, even as their trucks were called for more serious business just a minute or so later.
And on Friday they engaged in their 16-year tradition of hosting a pre-Christmas turkey dinners gratis for all the emergency responders in the area including Chester, Delaware and New Castle counties — and some even beyond in Maryland.
This year, as in previous years, it was well attended with fire and ambulance crews chowing down at tables in the vacated bays amid pesky snowstorm that had traffic tied up for hours along the local roads. The fire trucks sat outside at the ready for emergencies.
To say it was a turkey dinner was an understatement. Laid out on the serving tables were salads, rolls, pork, macaroni, French fries, all manner of sausages, drinks and sides. The guests were invited to eat all they wanted before departing.
The event went from 2 to 6 p.m., but by 3:30 p.m. plenty had been consumed already.
“I’ve brought in 20 turkey breasts already,” fire company Secretary Bill Wohl said.
Be assured that the cooked turkeys were not your grandma’s Thanksgiving birds.
The fire company bought large turkey breasts — about four or five pounds each — and cooked them in tanks of boiling oil outside. This year, in view of the coming snowstorm, they had tents set up ahead of time to cover the cooking area.
Being experts of fire safety, they said they were aware of the dangers inherent in those boiling oil projects and followed all the necessary precautions. One thing they warned against was cooking the turkey before it was thawed.
“Put in a frozen breast and you burn down your house,” fireman Mike Predmore said.
They were pleased to offer the cooked turkey that particularly tasty from the adventure in the oil. In fact, after they had fried a few breasts in a tank, they threw raw French fries for a swim and said the flavor of the cooking turkey before them gave a particularly good taste.
West Grove Fire Company also is present at community events and makes visits to student groups during Fire Safety Week.