Waitress Picks Up Check For Firefighter Who Fought Massive Blaze

A waitress at a New Jersey diner picked up the breakfast bill for a firefighter and his friend, after the emergency worker spent 12 hours fighting the massive blaze in North Brunswick this week, according to published reports.

Now, those firefighters from Burlington County are trying to figure if there’s a way to help the waitress, whose father has been a quadriplegic since suffering a brain aneurysm rupture in 2010, according to WPVI-TV in Philadelphia.

According to a Facebook post from Tim Young, a Mount Laurel firefighter, he decided to take his buddy, Paul Hullings, out for breakfast at the Route 130 Diner in Delran earlier this week.

Hullings, a Hainesport firefighter, had just spent 12 hours supplying water and fighting the warehouse fire that broke out near Route 1 in Middlesex County and brought firefighters from 100 departments to Central Jersey.

“Well, the waitress overheard us talking and this is what she set down instead of the bill,” he wrote in the post. “Such a selfless and kind act. I definitely urge my friends to make a trip out and support the business, and if Liz happens to be your waitress, big tip.”

He posted a photo of the check, where instead of the tab she wrote them note, explaining she was paying their bill and thanking them for their service.

“Fueled by fire and driven by courage - what an example you are. Get some rest!,’’ she wrote.

The waitress, Liz Woodward, just wanted to recognize the work of the firefighters and thought nothing of picking up the check, according to myfoxphilly.com.

Now, people who have heard the story are trying to help Woodward and her family.

In December 2014, the waitress set up a GoFundMe Page to raise money to buy a wheelchair accessible van for her dad.

In a post written six months ago, she thanked everyone who donated to the family, explaining that they had reached their fundraising goal. She wrote that any additional money donated would be used to buy more equipment and pay for care for her father.

As her story gets shared, donations are being made to the family again, with a few dozen posted to the site since Thursday.

“My father lost his job during the economic recession in 2008, lost his independence in 2010, and we lost our home to foreclosure in 2014, but we refuse to lose hope!” she wrote.

Photos via North Brunswick Volunteer Fire Company 1 Facebook page