OK Firefighters' TikTok May Result in Ragu TV Commercial

Dec. 15—What started out as a team-building exercise landed the Tahlequah Fire Department in a TV commercial for the national company Ragú.

Firefighter Anthony Margarit posted a video to his personal TikTok account, after he and his co-workers filmed a "commercial" wherein Margarit was cooking at Station 1 using Ragú sauce.

Ragú's recent blurbs have shown people cooking with its sauces and saying, "Cook like a mother!" Margarit boasted in the video that he is, in fact, cooking like a mother.

"Ours doesn't follow the Ragú commercial exactly; we just took bits and pieces we thought were fun, and we wanted everybody to be included in it," said TFD Capt. Jody Enlow.

Enlow came up with the idea as a team-building exercise for his shift. His brother-in-law emailed the TikTok video to Ragú, and a company representative contacted Margarit directly on the social media app.

"They responded to him with their appreciation and enthusiasm, and said that they'd actually responded back to TikTok. We couldn't get that response to load, and we realized they had just started their own TikTok because of it; they didn't have any likes or any followers yet," said Enlow.

Once Margarit began "following" Ragú's TikTok account, messages from company showed up in his inbox.

"The were extremely appreciative and said they were going to send us a palette of Ragú, which we thought was really cool," said Enlow. "Just a 'thank you' was really cool, and since then, they've asked for our permission to use the video."

Fire Chief Casey Baker said he will be going before the City Council in January to ask if the video can be used by Ragú, since TFD's name and logo can be seen in it.

"They mayor has approved it and the city attorney has approved it, but it needs council approval," said Enlow.

Tahlequah Mayor Sue Catron said department heads are always working to build their teams, and they frequently provide safety or process training to their employees. She said the Ragú video was directed toward increasing communication and creativity.

"When the results of this team-building activity catches the eye of a national company and their use of the video has the potential to highlight Tahlequah in a positive way, that's a rare opportunity," said Catron. "Kudos to our fire department and to Chief Baker. Attracting the attention of Ragú may not have been their intention, but their team-building efforts may have far-reaching results."

Enlow said they would like to cook a spaghetti dinner using the sauces Ragú sent, possibly at the Cherokee County Community Building, and have proceeds go toward their Tragedy Fund.

The Daily Press was at Station 1 Tuesday morning, speaking with firefighters about the video, when a representative from Ragú happened to call. Margarit spoke with the representative and was told they will send a truck full of sauces and "other stuff" to Station 1 on Tuesday, Jan. 11. A representative with Ragú will also be on hand.

"I appreciate you guys very much, and we had a lot of fun 'cooking like a mother,'" Margarit joked with the caller.

Baker said he had went to a leadership class recently and was challenged for TFD to host team-building skills.

"This shift took it more than what I was expecting, but I was glad to see the camaraderie amongst them. It will hopefully benefit not only the fire department, but even Tahlequah," said Baker.

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