TULSA -- Many first responders across the country did not get the traditional Thanksgiving meal at home with family.
Here in Tulsa, they decided to make the best of it.
Although they did not get many calls, the firefighters at Station 18 on Brookside were stuck hanging out at the station just in case.
In the early afternoon, they were invited by Station 6 near Tulsa Hills for a Thanksgiving feast.
It took planning, grocery shopping and a lot of cooking. Smoked ham, fried turkey and chicken, ribs and every side dish imaginable were on the menu.
The firefighters' families were invited to join.
This was Justin Embrey's first holiday on duty working as a firefighter.
"It's amazing," Justin Embrey said. "It's not the best being at work, but I mean my wife gets to come spend it with me so there is nothing better than that."
His wife was excited to spend time with her husband and his colleagues.
"It’s a new experience for us and I get to see him in his environment and get to see all the guys that he’s gotten to know well," Megan Embrey said. "I don’t know them as well, but I know they take care of him, they will take care of me just as much as they take care of him."
The firefighters had everything you would have at a traditional Thanksgiving get together: food, fellowship and family. Only this family is not related by blood.
"If I’m not at home, I'm at the station hanging out with the guys, my brothers," Justin Embrey said. "We cook. We fight. We work out. We do everything together at the station."
"It's just another family, so as the years go on, I'll get to know the guys that he works with," Megan Embrey said. "I'll get to know their families. It's just an extension of my family."
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