GODFREY – Guests looking for their quick and delicious morning breakfast from the Godfrey Hardees were surprised to see a firefighter in uniform right next to the menu.
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Godfrey firefighters Matt Halliday, Justin Hayes, Doug Dankenbring, Captain David Bellitto and Luke Warner were on hand at the area establishment this Friday morning for the annual Rise and Shine for Heat Up St. Louis campaign.
Between 8 and 10:30 a.m., the men who normally serve their community by putting out fires and ensuring that their residents are safe donned khaki aprons with the event's insignia and held donation cans to promote cause.
Instead of seeing their normal Hardees cashier in the drive-up window, Warner took the reigns on the register, conducted transactions and even gave guests their food.
“We’re out here for Heat Up St. Louis, a charity that helps the poor, disabled and elderly with their heating bills,” Godfrey Fire Chief Erik Kambarian said. “We here doing our best to help.”
In honor of the campaign, diners could grab a tasty sausage and egg biscuit sandwich for just $1.
“About an hour ago,” Chief Kambarian said, “we had sold just around 500 sandwiches, which are delicious.”
Each dollar earned from the sale of the sandwiches and extra donations collected will go directly back into the community to assist seniors, disabled and other qualified poor households in the area with their heating bills.
“The money raised here stays in our community,” he said. “It doesn’t go across the river. This is our first year involved with the charity and hopefully this starts a good tradition.
“We see this as an opportunity to invest in our community and public safety,” Chief Kambarian said. “If we can pay someone’s heating bill and stop them from having to use a space heater or an unsafe method of heating their home, maybe it would prevent a house fire, or prevent that person from an EMS call because they haven’t had heat for three days and they’re freezing. This is a prevention and investment in our community.”
