Jumpline MAG_Winter 2026 - Flipbook - Page 46
46
Michael Vallone, Ret.
Jumpline Editor
Editor’s Page
Communication and banter leads to camaraderie,
and camaraderie leads to synergy,
synergy leads crews to new heights.
It’s been said that a good crew makes the shift.
And the kitchen table facilitates this.
table cannot be overstated, yet its signi昀椀cance is overlooked,
especially at the 昀椀re station, or a better term, the 昀椀re house.
Being on duty for a 24 hour shift can be grueling and requires
nourishment and liquid, in quantities that allow for sustainability
of maximum effort. The table is where this usually takes place;
breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The gathering of 昀椀re昀椀ghters around that table
means more than just food consumption. The 昀椀re
house table is the heart and soul of the 昀椀re house.
Where else do the crews gather and relax (as best as they can)
together? It holds a tradition of conversation, previous calls are
discussed, strategies and tactics mulled over, experiences, war
stories, gossip, all sorts of topics are debated. Communication
and banter leads to camaraderie, and camaraderie leads to synergy, synergy leads crews to new heights. It’s been said that a
good crew makes the shift. And the kitchen table facilitates this.
The
Kitchen Table
The table has been around for thousands of years. In its beginnings it was a utilitarian object whose purpose was to keep items
off the ground. Over centuries it evolved into a work space for
crafts or making a living, food preparation, schooling, and food
consumption. The term table, today, is synonymous with “kitchen
table.” It may be used for studying or homework, but the modern
kitchen table has taken on a more important role in the lives
of families. It is a central hub of family activity. It is a gathering
point, usually in the evening for the dinner meal, whereby all
members sit together and not just consume food, but also talk to
each other; often the only time where they actually do that- talk
to each other. The table is also the focal point of holidays or festivities, whether it’s the kitchen table, dining room table, or picnic
table. It is sometimes decorated elaborately and ornamentally,
with 昀氀owers, or adorned with the seldom used special silverware
and 昀椀ne-china. But it is used also as a place for meeting and
chatting or talking, getting to know another, such as on a date at
a restaurant.
Whether we know it or not, the table has been signi昀椀cant
throughout the past. One of the most iconic scenes in history
took place at a table: the Last Supper. The importance of the
Aside from the positivity of the kitchen table, in regard to morale, there is the food. And there is some magni昀椀cent food made
in the 昀椀re stations. Chef’s grandeur galore! Some meals are so
profound they’re remembered decades later. There was a probie rotating through station 50, who picked the sweetest corn
in a 昀椀eld that morning, in Homestead, prior to shift, that corn is
remembered almost a career later, along with magni昀椀cent rice
whose recipe he kept a secret! There were feasts, for as many
as twenty 昀椀re昀椀ghters at station 12, that put some restaurant food
to shame!
All gathered ‘round, aromas wafting through the air, salivary
glands on overdrive, the anticipation of the 昀椀rst fork full, and oh,
the tones, interrupting it all, sometimes going with a bowl full in
hand and slamming the food down enroute.
After all is said and done, the kitchen table is a great place to
make the job greater. It is a piece of the culture of the 昀椀re house
that brings 昀椀re昀椀ghters together. It should be celebrated every
shift, And one should not forget that the partaking of the food is
one aspect of camaraderie, but also meal preparation and cooking of the meal is often done as a team, and even the purchase
of the ingredients can be a team effort, culminating in the crews
sitting down and enjoying the fruits of the chef’s labor.
And not forgotten is the 昀椀re house coffee, sometimes brutal, sometimes magni昀椀cent, but always
delicious when sipped at the kitchen table. Food is
a blessing, it should be relished, food together even
more so, as is being a part of the MDFR team, as is
every breath.
Winter 2025 | JUMPLINE Magazine
