For nearly two weeks, members of Windsor Fire and Rescue Services have traded in their fire hoses for spatulas to help at the Ronald McDonald House in Windsor. Each night, different members showed up with groceries in hand, to cook for families staying on-site. After initially making a donation to the cause through the Windsor Firefighters Benefit Fund, Chris Scapinello said they wanted to do more to give back. “I only thought I was going to do a short cooking blitz, three days, cool. That lasted about 20 minutes, then my phone didn’t stop blowing up for guys asking, ‘hey, when are you going to add more days?’” Scapinello, the fund’s volunteer coordinator, told CTV News. Located inside the Windsor Regional Hospital Met Campus, the Ronald McDonald House Charities Windsor includes five overnight rooms for families with children admitted to the hospital. At the kitchen located inside the unit, firefighters have been making salads, flipping burgers and chopping fruit. “It provides refuge for families that are going through things that I myself couldn’t even imagine,” Scapinello said of RMHC. Part of the support, Scapinello explained, comes from members who have previously seen the charity’s work in action. “A lot of our membership and firefighters from the floor have actually used the facilities here, whether they were guests themselves when they had, like, children in the NICU let’s say, or just family members kind of experiencing what the families here are experiencing as well,” Scapinello added. On Thursday night, rather than current members, it was former fire chiefs, district chiefs and assistant chiefs cooking up meals. Among them was Sean Wilson, AKA “Super Chief,” a retired Windsor Fire District Chief. When asked about the pristine reputation firefighters carry for their cooking skills, Wilson had little doubt the former chiefs could “hold their own” in the kitchen. “We have some of the best cooks that the newer cooks learned from in the kitchen today,” he said. As emergency responders, Wilson said their time at the RMHC is another opportunity to help families on some of their worst days. “We deal with people in their absolute worst moments, so any chance we can make their days better, we try,” Wilson said. In 2024, 85 families stayed overnight at the RMHC with the longest staying for 78 nights. Open since 2016, the Windsor House includes a day pass program with access to a smaller room for naps and the Cart with a Heart program. These programs helped serve nearly 6,500 families in 2024, by providing a private bathroom and bath, homemade dinners, laundry facilities, essential items, and other comforts of home. While the 12 nights of volunteering proved to be a first for Windsor Fire, Scapinello said the goal is to make the dinners an annual event.
