Sept. 13 -- About 40 active and retired firefighters were treated to an unexpected complimentary lunch Tuesday after the restaurant owner paid their bill in remembrance of Sept. 11.
To pay it forward, the men decided to take the money they planned to spend on lunch and donate it to HEROES Inc., a nonprofit that aids families of law enforcement officers and firefighters who have died in the line of duty in the Washington, D.C., area, according to its website.
The firemen all worked, or are working, in the D.C. area and meet for lunch every second Tuesday of each month at Champion Billiards Sports Bar in Frederick.
“Some of the guys have sons that are on the job, and some of the guys are getting close to retiring,” said Bob Drevo, who attended the lunch. “Then there’s some guys that come up there to hang around with the old guys. I guess you call us nothing but a great big family. It’s a big brotherhood of guys.”
They will donate about $400 to HEROES Inc., he said.
Drevo was a Washington, D.C., firefighter from 1965 to 1995, retiring as a lieutenant. He now lives in Mount Airy. He and the other retired firemen have been getting together for lunch for about five years.
“It’s a conglomeration of old people getting together and to have a sandwich and shoot the breeze once a month,” he said.
Tuesday’s monthly lunch started out like any other. A member of the Emerald Society, an organization of first responders that preserves the traditions of Ireland, came and played a few songs on the bagpipes.
Drevo said when it came time to pay the bill it was announced that the bar’s owner, Gary Allen, picked up the tab.
“I thought, ‘jeez, this was unreal,’” Drevo said. “We naturally gave him [the owner] a great big round of applause and thanked him dearly.”
One retired fireman at the lunch came up with the idea to pay it forward and donate to HEROES Inc.
“I think it’s tremendous,” Drevo said. “We get the opportunity to help someone again. That was our job.”
Allen said he picked up the tab to give back to them, not only for their patronage but also for their service to the community.
“They’ve been very dedicated to us and being the day that it was, 9/11, it just felt like the right thing to do,” he said.
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