South Bay : COLD CUTS
Did you hear the one about the Hawthorne firefighters who couldn’t get a flame on their gas stove?
Actually, it didn’t seem that funny when the city’s late payment of a $114 gas bill left Fire Station 3 without the means to heat up a meal last Friday.
Gas Co. spokeswoman Susan Williams-Guerra said payment for the bill, which had been delinquent for at least a month, did arrive before the service was discontinued but not in time to inform the shut-off team before it left for its rounds Friday. The gas was restored by Saturday morning, firefighters union President Steve DeWitt said.
Hawthorne City Treasurer Edelma Campos said she did not know why the bill went unpaid but suspected it might have been due to a “fluke” oversight in the office that cuts checks for the city.
As for the firefighters, they dealt with it the way any brave, resourceful soldier on the front lines would: They sent out for pizza.
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