Spokane's firefighters got a special Labor Day lunch on Monday, courtesy of Olive Garden, to thank them for all their hard work during this summer's busy fire season.
It was an especially busy summer for the Spokane Fire Department. The city suffered its worst hazmat spill in more than a decade and crews battled countless fires across the state. To say thank you, crews from Olive Garden loaded up and delivered enough food to feed 55 firefighters.
Chef Milo Serratori even came in on his day off to make sure the meal was extra special.
“They'll start with our house salad, our famous house salad, and then lasagna and then desert,” Serratori said.
Getting Labor Day lasagna to twelve different fire stations while it was still hot was not an easy task. Fortunately, a lot of volunteers showed up to help with the deliveries.
“They never get a day off and they work hard and they save people lives and they save people's homes, they save people's families, and pets and we don't do a lot, we just serve food,” said Meagan Dhatt of Olive Garden. “But it's helpful and they love it, and we love to share with them this day.”
Kathy Mericle has worked at Olive Garden for fifteen years and is used to serving up big meals, but just last month it was her home that was threatened by a wildfire.
“We were at a level 3 evacuation two weeks ago,” Mericle said. “We live out in the Airway Heights area and it got to within a half mile of the house, so it hits really close to home.”