By Frank E. Vaerewyck, The Firehouse Foodie
“What did they just say?”
The radio crackled a familiar sound, “Medic 60, sick call,” then two short tones followed by a long tone and one more short tone. “Medic 60, sick call, 1423 Madden Ave, caller advises patient is on 02 but having shortness, time out 13-48.” This is repeated once more, and the faint sounds of sirens from the ambulance can be heard from the “bus” leaving the rescue station located behind the firehouse. Sitting at the fire station working on paperwork, I realized that what I hear as plain English doesn’t sound that way to everyone. When we leave the station, it may sound something like, “Engine 50 en route, par 4,” across the radio. As we approach an intersection, you may hear, “Engine, Main and Chester.” When we arrive at the fire or incident, you may hear, “Engine 50, Truck 50 on scene, single story, nothing showing side A and D, investigating, hold one and one, all others stage at the corner.” The dispatcher repeats everything just as we say it, to confirm he heard it, usually with a copy to follow. What does all of that mean?
Go to any diner or waffle house, and you will be fascinated to hear the wait staff call out to the short order cook what you want in a fashion not as you asked for it. “One cackleberries out west, with a side of cats heads and easy diggins for the gent and flop two, over easy, side of zeppelins in a fog for the lady, I got their cup of mud and oh, he wants you to firehouse his!” The cook then replies in the same fashion to confirm that he heard everything, just as the dispatcher repeats everything we say.
We have a language all our own, and although it takes time to learn and understand it, eventually it’s just plain English. And in case you were wondering, I ordered a western omelette with a side of biscuits and gravy; my wife got two fried eggs, flipped over carefully, with the yolk very runny, and a side of sausages and mashed potatoes; and oh, I wanted to add chili sauce to my dish. “That’s Bringing the Firehouse Home!”
NOT-SO-FRIED CHICKEN
Ingredients:
4 healthy chicken breasts, boneless/skinless
4 eggs large Grade A
2 cups panko Italian seasoning bread crumbs
sea salt and black pepper
olive oil cooking spray
Directions:
- Crack eggs into bowl and mix yolk with whites well.
- Place panko crumbs in separate bowl.
- Spray 14 x 9 baking dish with olive oil.
- Roll chicken breasts in egg wash and coat thoroughly.
- Place well-coated breast in panko crumbs and completely coat, covering every inch, then place in baking dish. Coating thoroughly with egg wash will allow you to coat completely with the bread crumbs and seal in the flavor and juices.
- Bake chicken breasts at 350ºF for 45 minutes to an hour, flip once halfway through, and make sure that the core temperature gets to 165ºF by checking the meat with a thermometer. Bread crumbs will crisp up and chicken will taste like fried chicken, without all the grease and unhealthiness of frying. Enjoy.
Frank Vaerewyck has had a passion for the fire service that has spanned 20 years. He has been a volunteer and career firefighter and is currently a firefighter/EMT with the Manassas (VA) Volunteer Fire Company. He has passed on his passion for the fire service through instruction and mentorship. That same passion he has for the fire service is shared with his love of food. In 2006, Vaerewyck won an Iron Chef-style competition sponsored by a radio station in Richmond, Virginia. That is where he also furthered his education by attending a Culinary Arts Program. As the Firehouse Foodie, he has been compiling recipes to be included in a cookbook that will give others the opportunity to see their hometown heroes not just as firefighters, but as the firehouse chefs they truly are.
