Turkey served

Stephen Cameron has fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a firefighter.

The 38-year-old father of two said he had wanted to fight fires since he was five. A former plumber, he enlisted and spent his first two months training at the Protective Emergency Services Training Centre before he’s assigned to a fire hall sometime in November.

Cameron said it is a dream come true to finally become a firefighter.

"It has been a life long thing I wanted to do," Cameron said. "One of the things I like about the Thunder Bay firefighters is they are really involved in the community. It isn’t economic based. I was a plumber originally and everything you did was around a budget and a time line. So this is different in that I don’t have to worry about that I worry about helping people."

He joined about 40 other firefighters and their families as they served a Thanksgiving feast at the Salvation Army on Cumberland on Sunday. The Thunder Bay Professional Fire Fighters Association supplied the funds for the dinner.

The dinner began at noon and ran until 3 p.m. with a shuttle service from the former Brodie Street bus terminal and the Water Street terminal bringing in hungry patrons.

Cameron isn’t a stranger to volunteering. He heard about the opportunity to volunteer for the dinner while training. He said it is important to help out in the community and see the good times not just the bad ones.

"It’s important to help out in a positive way and in a positive atmosphere like this one," he said.

More than 300 people attended the Salvation Army’s Thanksgiving dinner last year. Executive director Maj. Mervyn Halvorsen said on Friday that he expected about the same number of people to come to the dinner table on Sunday.

"Times have been tough," Halvorsen said. "Last year there was a big hit in the economy and it’s really starting to take hold and affect the people. We want to make sure they get a good Thanksgiving dinner."

The Salvation Army has joined forces with the Fire Fighters Association to serve a traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner for about 13 years.

"When people are being served their dinner, it’s nice just to see their smiling faces and knowing the children are being fed; they’re having a happy day and they’re gong away with a full belly," He said.

With files from Jodi Lundmark.