Providing Service on Thanksgiving Day

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Makayla Grijalva | News-Bulletin photo

LLFD firefighter Josh Martinez drives one of the fire trucks to the back of Station 2 so one of the newer firefighters can practice connecting hoses to a fire hydrant.

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LOS LUNAS — Los Lunas Fire Department Lt. Raquel Torres is no stranger to working holidays.

Both of her parents volunteered with the village fire department, so she essentially grew up at the fire station. Every time a holiday comes around — whether Thanksgiving, Christmas or the Fourth of July — she said her family is understanding when she has to work.

“My parents are very understanding,” Torres said. “… It feels like (work is) falling on part of the holidays somewhere. It’s one of those things I’ve grown accustomed to and my family is usually pretty accommodating.”

Torres began in the department as receptionist in 2004, as a firefighter in 2005, and eventually becoming the second paid female lieutenant in the department’s history.

When she began working holidays, every year the firefighters on call could count on former mayor Louis Huning to enlist one of his staff to bring a large Thanksgiving dinner to the station. After Huning retired and another mayor took office, Thanksgiving came, but no turkey was brought to the department that year.

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Makayla Grijalva | News-Bulletin photo

Jace Otero, 9, plays basketball with some of the firefighters ahead of joining them for a Thanksgiving meal at the station. Otero’s mom, Arianna, works in the department as a firefighter.

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Makayla Grijalva | News-Bulletin photo

Gabriel Gutierrez trains by attaching a hose to a fire hydrant to prepare for his Fire I and Fire II certifications, which he will test for in the near future.

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Makayla Grijalva | News-Bulletin photo

Gabriel Gutierrez, Andrew Yamamoto and Juan Carlos Cisneros help Gutierrez train to prepare for his Fire I and Fire II certifications.

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Torres and two other firefighters working, expecting a meal to be provided by the village, went looking for food. At the back of their pantry, the three found a lone can of SPAM.

They fried it up and shared the food amongst themselves.

“Ever since the SPAM incident, me and my partners vowed we would never go and scrounge for a meal,” Torres said.

Thanksgiving Day at the fire station is much like any other — filled with food, family and football.

The firefighters on-call set up tables, make classic Thanksgiving dishes such as turkey and sweet potatoes, and they even answer the occasional call for service that comes in over the intercom. Torres said holidays are the slower days of the year.

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Makayla Grijalva | News-Bulletin photo

Gabriel Gutierrez trains by breaking down a practice door to prepare for his Fire I and Fire II certifications, which he will test for in the near future.

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Makayla Grijalva | News-Bulletin photo

Each Thanksgiving, the Los Lunas firefighters on-call from both stations come together with their families to enjoy a day filled with food, football and family.

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“Thanksgivings are usually pretty chill because most people will either call before the holiday or after the holiday because they want to spend time with their family,” Torres said. “It’s pretty chill for the most part. If we do get calls, it’ll be because of food poisoning or chest pains, things like that.”

The firefighters from station 1 in the central part of the village even brought their truck over to enjoy the holiday with the others at station 2, by Huning Ranch.

Various football games played on the TV in the main room and Christmas music played over a small speaker in the center of the room, as families began to gather for the big meal, converse and play games.

While these firefighters more than likely won’t be at the station again for next year’s Thanksgiving Day, they did what they could to still make this year special even though they were on-call.

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