Local baker finds way to thank firefighters

By Mark Squibb/August 12, 2022

Conception Bay South baker Leah McDonald whipped up some fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies this past week for members of the Conception Bay South Fire Department to show her appreciation for their hard work during a particular bad fire season.

“With all the wildfires that have been going on that we’ve been seeing on the news, and all the other traumatic, difficult, terrible, stuff that the firemen go through, I said to my mom my the other night, ‘These guys are working really hard to keep us safe, and going through and seeing unimaginable stuff, I want to do something for them,’” said McDonald. “They deserve a special little treat. And baking is something I’m really good at. I run a bakery out of my kitchen, so I thought, that’s what I’ll do, everyone loves a chocolate chip cookie. That makes people smile. So, I decided I would bake a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies for the guys up here to say thank you and that I really appreciate what they’re doing.”

Captain Dave Smith said it felt good to be on the receiving end of such a gesture.

“It’s not everyday that people drop by and do this sort of thing for us, and it’s good to see that people are appreciative of what we do,” said Smith. “Days like this, it makes you feel good that you do what you do.”

McDonald, along with close friend Matthew McCarthy, delivered the treats Tuesday morning. Within moments of the presentation, firefighters received an emergency call and were out of the building in no time.