Dinnertime camaraderie at Michigan City Fire Station 1

After a long day of firefighter training and calls, it's nice to decompress and start prepping dinner. Time spent in the kitchen offers a chance to catch up on our lives outside of work—our families, sports, the news—and of course, to crack jokes at each other’s expense. It wouldn't be a firehouse if someone's chops weren't being busted. 

We typically rotate the role of head firehouse chef. Some guys cook more than others and some magically disappear until we yell “DING DONG,” our call that dinner is served. 

For this meal, Shannon Borders (driver and acting captain), was our head chef/grill master extraordinaire. You've never seen a man tame the wild beast that is a propane grill like he does. When he’s in charge, we always push away from the table with our bellies full. 

A top-notch firefighter meal is based around a few basic principles:

1. Delicious. If it doesn't taste good, get ready for a lifetime of being reminded of that bland chicken you made back in the fall of 2020.
2. Easy to make. Time is not always on our side. The tone may drop at any moment, and the extravagant four-course French dinner you had planned just won't fit into your day.
3. Reheats well. I can't tell you how many times I've sat down to eat only to have the tone drop, and I end up with a cold plate of food an hour later. 
4. Nutritious. Of course, we love pizza and Taco Bell, but we're all adults here. We eat our veggies, too. 
5. Filling. Our days can be long, and sometimes we run nonstop. We don't always have the luxury of knowing when we'll eat next, so dinner may have to fuel us through our next stretch of calls or a 2am structure fire.