Bringing Back Camaraderie
More than 350 firefighters and their significant others gathered in the Platinum Ballroom at the JW Marriott at LA Live for the LAFRA dinner dance party. Many of the tables at the festivities on Saturday evening, December 9th were filled with station mates, who made the event their firehouse holiday party as well.
The crowd looked pretty good all scrubbed up. Most of the guys seemed to have remembered how to properly tie a Windsor knot and the ladies were decked out in everything from Batiste to Taffeta, with a few Peau de Soie thrown in for good measure. Even the Fire Hogs left their colors at home in favor of their semi-formals.
The bubbly flowed “freely” for the first hour out in the reception area, as old friends got reacquainted and fresh stories were exchanged. There were four cash bars (and one ATM) that helped to make this the happiest hour of the evening.
When the guests were finally invited to take their seats in the banquet room, the wonderful aromas from the buffet were already beginning to fill the room. But this being a fire department event, there were a few bits of business to take care of first.
The golden voice of the LAFD, Steve Ruda, started everything off with a few warm words of welcome. LAFRA President Bob Steinbacher followed with thanks for all for attending and making the event a huge success. Tim Larson led an invocation, and only then did the dining room manager summon the first tables to the buffet line.
Everyone was overwhelmed by the quality, presentation and service at the buffet, and had their fill from the abundant cornucopia of cuisine (and some had their fill six or five times!). Only then were the lights lowered and the vibrations of a variety of great dance tunes began to rock the room. Inside, the dance floor was jammed until midnight – the entire evening a welcome respite for the weary while the strong Santa Ana‘s continued to blow outside.
Photos by Deborah Lew