New Fire Station Kitchen is 'Awesome'

When Division Chief Steve Hyink first stumbled across the Family Handyman's Rescue Remodel contest for a $25,000 firehouse kitchen makeover from IKEA, he figured he might as well enter.

With worn-down hinges and broken doors on the cabinets, a cracked sink with yellow rings and old flooring, the 50-plus-year-old kitchen of Fire Station No. 1—Hyink's home away from home—needed help, and though the firefighters tried to set money aside for kitchen improvements, the funds went to roof repairs and equipment instead.

"It was just on a whim (that I entered) … I thought, 'You know, it won't hurt,'" Hyink later told Patch.

After a month of voting, a viral music video and a third-place finish, South Bay-based organization Sharefest stepped up to remodel the kitchen, the conference room, the dormitories and more. Within three weeks, the firefighters had a new kitchen.

"It's awesome," Hyink said last Saturday—the day Sharefest finished the remodel. "It's the best third-place prize I've ever seen."

Sharefest and its contractors—the vast majority of whom are Redondo residents—replaced the cabinets, added new flooring and brought in four new refrigerators, among other upgrades. Barbeques Galore in Torrance provided a brand-new grill.

"It was a total team effort," said Shannell McMillan, the project manager from Sharefest. She called the project a "huge success on so many levels."

"It's a huge upgrade … (It) turned out really well," said firefighter-paramedic Jeremy Sisante. Sisante starred in the department's rendition of "We Cook Our Food in a Hopeless Place," sung to the tune of Rihanna's "We Found Love." "I'm ecstatic about it."

Fire Chief Dan Madrigal expressed similar sentiments.

"I'm lost for words," he said. "This is absolutely just over the top … We had no idea it would even be near what the final product" turned out to be.

One of the best parts? "They kept a lot of the tradition," Madrigal said.

Though it was finished with fire-engine red paint and a high-gloss finish, the mug rack was returned to its spot. The drawing of Mickey Mouse looking up at the fireman was re-hung on the walls.

And the kitchen table, which was brought in when the fire station was built, is back in its spot in the dining area.

"The table has been there since the beginning of time," McMillan said.

As she explained it, it's like the family table. When people sit at it, they relax and let their guard down.

"(There's) something special about the table," she said.

One thing is certain, though: "The guys are so happy, and that's what it's all about," she said.

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