ARLINGTON — The aromas of halibut in cream sauce and garlic mashed potatoes drew Capt. Scott Hillis into the kitchen at Fire Station 46 for a taste test.
On a recent Monday evening, Kelly Penny was cooking supper for the B shift firefighters at the station, and Hillis and his crew were eagerly waiting for the call to come to the table.
Penny is the leader of Support 46, a group of seven volunteer chaplains who work alongside north Snohomish County fire crews, emergency medical technicians and police. Support 46 helps the victims of house fires, car accidents and other disasters.
Cooking at the fire station isn’t part of the expected duties of a chaplain. Being part of the dinner rotation with the B shift is simply a matter of sharing a friendship with the crew.
“Kelly is awesome, and we can’t say enough good things about her. We get out there to save lives and she comes in to help the families,” Hillis said. “And she’s there for us to talk to when our work gets tough, when a child doesn’t make it.”
The community relations manager at Cascade Valley Hospital, Penny, 35, has volunteered with Support 46 for about three years.
“I love these guys and they have made me part of their family,” Penny said.
A graduate of Sedro-Woolley High School and a Bible college in Missouri, Penny worked for eight years at Children’s Hospital in Seattle. There she did financial social work and fundraising, helping alleviate parents’ worries about how their children’s care would be paid for.
“I’ve always been good at working with people who are hurting,” Penny said.
Penny’s father, Bob, a retired school principal, and her mother, Sam, also a Support 46 volunteer, live in Arlington. They are her role models, Penny said.
“And Dad puts up with Mom and me when our Support 46 pagers go off and we have to leave in the middle of a family dinner,” she said.
Penny also is a member of the Kiwanis Club and the Downtown Arlington Business Association. She learned about Support 46 when she took Community Emergency Response Team training in Arlington. She and the other chaplains on Support 46 were prepared for the volunteer jobs at the state Criminal Justice Training Center.
“It’s good to be appreciated when I come on an accident scene. It frees the guys to do what their expertise is,” she said.
Support 46 also shows up at community events that involve the fire department, such as the Easter egg hunt, the Arlington Fly-In and others.
“With her job and all, I don’t know how Kelly does it. She can be up all night at a fire and then go to work the next day,” Hillis said. “She’s a lot of fun and very outgoing.”
Firefighter and emergency medical technician Ronda Davies said she considers Kelly more of a personal friend than a co-worker.
“She’s a fireball and very generous with her time. She’s always available to us,” Davies said.
With dinner almost ready, Kelly smiled.
“I’ll be doing this as long as they want me here,” she said. “All my lives kind of intersect here at the fire station.”
Reporter Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427 or gfiege@heraldnet.com.
How to donate
Support 46 provides help to emergency victims as well as assistance to police and fire crews in north Snohomish County. To donate to Support 46, call Kelly Penny at 360-913-7193.
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