Zanesville Fire Department makes Christmas dinner

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- Some of Zaneville’s bravest and finest took a break from work to celebrate the holidays with each other.

While most people have the day off to spend with their loved ones, the first responders are still on the clock. Chef Pierre John Benson, better known as Stephen Vincent, took over the kitchen preparing a Christmas meal for members of the Zanesville Fire Department to share at their home away from home. He says it’s important for them to have this time of fellowship because they spend so much time together.

“One-third of our lives is spent here at the firehouse. It’s not a fire station. It’s a fire station to you people, but it’s a fire house to us. We live here, you know, for 24 hours. And this is my family. This is my secondary family. This is my family that I need to be able to trust. That I know is going to have my back when I need it. These are the guys I live with.”

Despite being away from their families the firefighters from all three stations feasted on a dinner of prime rib, mac-n-cheese, potatoes, and cheesecake. And while they are enjoying their holiday Vincent says their main focus is still on protecting the citizens and that you should call sooner rather than later if you have an emergency.

“If you have even the slightest problem, we would rather you call 911 and maybe put the fire out yourself and cancel us in route instead of trying to fight the fire yourself. And waiting, you know, five, ten minutes and all the sudden well we better call 911. Now all of the sudden…what we could’ve had out in five minutes takes us an hour to put out.”

Vincent also credited former Zanesville firefighter John Benson for teaching him his culinary skills.