On Nov. 21, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Blue Wind Gourmet in California, Hollywood and Bay District firefighters were honored. This was not a typical honorarium, however. Mark and Laurie-Lee Mueller not only thanked firefighters that came to their rescue on Oct. 30 when their house caught on fire, but the couple feels that a simple thank you was not enough.
“After being so devastated watching our house go up in flames, the firefighters came to our rescue and just in the knick of time. They were so wonderful and compassionate to us the whole evening. After getting the fire out they carefully walked us around the house to show us the devastation,” said Laurie-Lee Mueller.
“They all were so friendly and really showed they cared about the situation we were in. Our numerous ‘thank yous’ seemed so hollow concerning what they just did for us. We also had the feeling that probably once the firefighters left the scene they [would] probably become a distant memory.”
The Muellers discuss their gratitude for the help the next evening. “My husband Mark and I were talking about how thankful we were to the fire fighters who helped us. We felt bad for the fire fighter who was taken out on a stretcher due to smoke inhalation. We really wanted to do something special to show our appreciation,” said Laurie-Lee Mueller.
The couple has known the owner of Blue Wind Gourmet for some time and decided to ask Rob Plant to help them put together a tribute to thank firefighters properly. “I called Rob and he eagerly agreed to help us have a wonderful event.”
The Muellers then stopped by the Bay District Volunteer Station in Lexington Park and spoke with Chief Mark Warren and asked for his help in coordinating the get-together. “Mark has been working with the Hollywood station to make sure everyone gets invited that helped us out Oct 30.”
At the event Friday night, the Muellers hosted around 40 firefighters from both stations. In addition to the dinner, they are providing each station with a $1,000 donation.
It is somewhat ironic that the middle of the tribute dinner, the proceedings were interrupted by another chimney fire. The same type of fire that the Muellers experienced on Oct. 30.