Thanking the firefighters

For the firefighters of Newport Beach Fire Station No. 8, working on the holidays is all part of the job.

“We work our regular shift on holidays, so if you normally work that day, you’re on,” said fire department paramedic Kelly Gorman. “You can work several Thanksgivings in a row.”

The firefighters on duty at the station Thursday dined on a gourmet Thanksgiving meal compliments of the Resort at Pelican Hill, which opened this week in Newport Coast.

“We wanted to reach out and say ‘it’s wonderful that you are here working on Thanksgiving to keep us all safe,” said Giuseppe Lama, managing director of the Resort at Pelican Hill.

Thanksgiving Day or not, the firefighters have to be on call, in case of the odd turkey fire that could break out, said Terry Toole, an engineer with the Newport Beach Fire Department.

“More people are frying their turkeys, so you occasionally have accidents relating to that — people burn their hands, their clothes, sometimes even a structure fire,” he said.

“Thanksgiving, Christmas, working on the holidays is part of the job.”

The firefighters at the Newport Coast station feasted Thursday on Asian pear and apple salad; roasted organic turkey with wild mushroom stuffing, green beans, roasted sweet potatoes, cranberry compote and turkey gravy, all prepared by the gourmet chefs at the Resort at Pelican Hill.

The culinary staff at the resort began preparing the meal at 5 a.m., Lama said.

“They were smiling when they came in because they knew they were going to be helping someone,” Lama said.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.