Students craving chili at Carmichael Dining Hall yesterday were at the right place. Spicy food was in no short supply as the eatery's annual Station House Chili Fest treated 107 local firefighters and police officers to lunch alongside Tufts students.
"5 Alarm Chili," "Fire House Style Chili," "Cincinnati Chili" and "Chunky Chicken Chili" — not to mention a couple of other chili-related menu items — graced the menu yesterday, along with "The Fire Marshall Burger," "Station House Pizza" and "Felony & Smokin' Fries."
Police officers and firefighters from both Somerville and Medford turned out for the Chili Fest, and a few displays in the dining hall educated passers-by about fire hazards and public safety services.
The meal serves as a way to thank police officers and firefighters for "being there when we need them," Carmichael Unit Manager Dave Kelley said.
The Station House Chili Fest started eight years ago, when Kelley decided to start a "monotony breaker" by serving chili to students and firefighters for lunch one day in October.
The first year the dining hall put on the special meal, fewer than 30 firefighters showed up, Kelley said. At the time, the lunch was called "We're Smokin'," but Carmichael changed the name after organizers began inviting police officers.
Since that first lunch in 2001, the Chili Fest has become one of the dining hall's largest yearly events. Yesterday, Carmichael served a total of 1,057 meals during the four-hour lunch, 950 of those to students, according to Kelley.
October is Fire Prevention Month, and Kelley said that the lunch serves as a good way to remind students about safety on campus.
Wayne Springer, the fire marshal at Tufts, ran a display of fire hazards at the lunch that featured an overloaded outlet and a Campbell's soup can melted on a stove burner.
The Tufts University Police Department had a table set up with whistles and personal-safety information.
Springer said the 5 Alarm Chili was "excellent" and that the Carmichael staff did "a good job" with the food.
Rob Stefanik, dining service manager at Carmichael, said the most popular special item was probably the Cincinnati Chili. He praised the firefighters and police officers who attended yesterday.
"They have tough jobs to do," he said.
