Elegant Dinner for Firefighters

Firefighter Ben Vernon was delighted as he stood on the lawn by the marina where the air smelled of grilling steaks at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina.

He and his crew at Station 8, at Mission Hills, were planning to order pizza for dinner. Then, word reached them about 6 p.m. that chefs from Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide were preparing San Diego Fire-Rescue Department firefighters an elegant dinner of grilled steaks, shrimp and fish.

"This is awesome," said Vernon, who was in on duty in Rancho Bernardo last week.

Some arrived off-duty with their families, and some were there on dinner break. Some rolled up in fire rigs.

Chief Tracy Jarman was there mingling and greeting firefighters, telling a group of them, "You guys made me proud out there."

Chefs from various hotels were in town and arranged with Starwood to treat the firefighters, Jarman said.