AIRWAY HEIGHTS — The two families that lost homes in the Bartholomew and Christensen road fires Aug. 27 and Sept. 7, respectively will soon be getting some assistance from the community.
Wolffy’s Burgers partnered with Heights Church to host a spaghetti feed Saturday, Sept. 19, with 100% of proceeds benefitting those fire victims.
The fundraiser brought in around $5,300, well exceeding the original goal of $2,000.
“The community really showed up and showed tremendous support,” owner Jessica Davis said. “More so than we could have imagined.”
The spaghetti feed ran from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. and featured a meal of spaghetti, salad and garlic bread. The meals cost $8 per person.
The event generated community support. Police chief Brad Richmond and his wife, Allison, helped to serve tables. All on-duty police officers appeared throughout the night and took children to see their squad cars and flash the vehicle emergency lights. The fire department parked a ladder truck outside Wolffy’s for display before taking several meals back to the station.
“The amount of people who came out (and) showed up (and) offered help was so overwhelming in the best way possible,” Davis said. “Staff came back and worked a double (shift) that day to staff the event.”
Originally, the ownership of Davis and her husband Justin had considered fundraising to help victims of the Malden fire, but Fire Chief Mitch Metzger advised that the local victims may need more help, as there was widespread and even national assistance coming into Malden.
“They were getting a ton of help out there,” Davis said. “There were two families here in town who lost their homes, so maybe that was a better place for us to draw attention and help out in our community.”
Wolffy’s was still taking donations through the end of the day Sept. 22 before cutting checks to fire victims as of press time.
Firefighters in Okanogan County have also received support from a local restaurant. Anywhere between 6-9 workers at Longhorn Barbecue were up late every night making breakfast meals for firefighters from Sept. 10-20.
“I do all the cooking, and we bring in a crew and form an assembly line,” Longhorn breakfast cook Pat Gardner said. “They package all the food up.”
The shift began at 10 p.m. for Gardner, and 11 p.m. for other workers. They worked until the truck is loaded, which has to be done by 2 a.m. Workers were contributing in addition to their normal shifts.
Food went to firefighters on the front lines in Omak, Okanogan and Curlew. Gardner said the firefighters especially enjoyed the breakfast burritos they receive.
Gardner said he loves helping the firefighters due to the service they provide the community.
“They are putting their lives on the line for us every day, not just for fire season,” Gardner said. “I have nothing but respect for them.”
Drew Lawson can be reached at drew@cheneyfreepress.com.
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