By Gordon Rago
The York Daily Record
YORK, Pa. — In the recreation room of the Rose Fire Company Thursday night, a television was set to ABC Family, the 1990s film “Twister” playing out quietly on the screen. The large room’s well-worn couches, though, were empty.
That’s because the company’s volunteers at the New Freedom Borough station that night were in the mess hall.
And they had good reason.
Members of St. John Evangelical Church, which is located just a few hundred yards from the fire company, stopped by the station around 6:30 p.m. They came bearing culinary gifts -- homemade lasagna, salad and a choice of desserts including chocolate chip cookies.
The smell of garlic bread soon permeated the room as about 10 volunteer firefighters, paramedics and EMTs formed a line to serve themselves to the free meal.
The church, as a way of becoming more involved in its community and connect with the men and women who respond to medical and emergency calls day-in-and-day-out, also donated a $430 check to the company’s president, Keith Dickmyer.
Cathy Taylor, a member of the church, had the idea for the dinner and check passing. Every month, the congregation chooses a group or organization to donate money to or help out. Members during church donate any cash they can.
Taylor said she and the church brought dinner to a nearby fire station last week.
There, she was struck how a 40-year volunteer of the Maryland Line Fire Company said he had never had a community organization come by and cook dinner for the volunteers or donate money.
“I thought that was sad,” Taylor said. “Nobody thanks them, but when your house catches fire, you expect them to be there and put their lives at risk.”
The Rose Fire Company has 30 active volunteers, Dickmyer said. In 2014, they went on 480 calls.
“It was very nice one of our local churches had the audacity to turn around and donate to the department,” Dickmyer said. He joked with his wife, Roni, who is one of the station’s ambulance drivers and EMTs, that if the emergency tone would have hit during the dinner, the church members would have been eating the large meal by themselves.
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(c)2015 York Daily Record (York, Pa.)
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