BUILDING A BARBEQUE - AT THE FIREHOUSE

My first assignment as a new lieutenant was to fire headquarters.  I was an Assistant Training officer.  A Captain was in charge of the training unit.  It was our job to train small classes of new probationary firefighters.  Large classes of recruits would go to the fire academy.  A year later, the Captain retired and I ran the training and re-training unit myself.  If a large class of probationary firefighters were recruited, I would be sent to the fire academy to help with the training.  After 3 years I requested a transfer to a firehouse.  I wanted to get back to firefighting.  

I was sent to a firehouse that was built into the side of a huge rock cliff.  There was a parking driveway on the left side of the station, a small back yard, and a good sized side yard which was carved out of the rock cliff.  The firemen wanted to build a brick barbeque grill.  They showed me their plans and wanted me to ask the Captain of the house for permission.  I suggested that they first get permission to pour a cement slab.  I told the Captain that the men wanted to pour a large slab outside the kitchen door, which was on the second floor, so they could put a picnic table, chairs and a grill.  The space wasn’t usable as it was because it was too rocky.  The Captain approved. 

The men used picks and shovels to dig out the rocks and to make a flat slab.  After the slab cured, everyone chipped in and we bought a large picnic table and benches.  Now I told the Captain that the men wanted to build a brick barbeque grill.  Since they did such a good job on the slab, the Captain approved.  The firemen showed me the plans they drew up for the grill.  It was really big – about 8 feet wide.  They had a pit in the middle with a tall 6 foot chimney. On either side of the chimney were doors – on the left storage for wood – on the right storage for charcoal – and in the back was a compartment for propane tanks.  This grill could be fired up using wood, charcoal or propane.  I returned the plans and told the men that I never saw them and not to show them to the Captain.  Just build it and then see what the Captain says.  

When it was finished, the Captain loved it.  He said had he known how big it was going to be, he probably would have rejected the plans.  I told him no one told me how big it was going to be either. 

The next project the men wanted to build was a thatched roof over the whole slab.  I said NO! NO! NO!!  The taxpayers walking past the firehouse could look up and see the Tiki Bar Roof outside a firehouse and complain to the city that their tax dollars were being used to build a Tiki Bar on firehouse property.  The firefighters in the house paid for everything on the porch deck but the taxpayers didn’t know that.  I also told them that the Assistant Chief, who came to the house every morning to pick up reports, would see this Tiki Roof and we would get in trouble for building something on city property without a permit.  The firefighters agreed no more building on City property – but the barbeque and patio improved the meals and the downtime for all firefighters for years to come.