BEYOND THE PLATE WITH CAROL
He Was There the Morning I Had a Heart Attack
What a Hudson firefighter's smash burger segment turned into the conversation I didn't know I needed to have
I was watching NH Chronicle a few weeks ago -- just sitting there, not expecting anything -- and I saw this guy making smash burgers for his firehouse crew. And I thought, wait. I know that guy.
Not from the restaurant world. Not from the community events. From the worst morning of my life.
In 2017, I had a heart attack at my home in New Boston, New Hampshire. And Bill Mortimer -- Firefighter and AEMT at Hudson Fire Department -- was one of the responders who showed up at my house that morning. He was working part-time with New Boston FD at the time, before he came on full-time in Hudson. I barely remembered any of it. But he did.
When the Smash Burger Became Something Much Bigger
Bill came on Beyond the Plate because of the Chronicle segment. Sean McDonald had this concept to show the inside of the firehouse kitchen, and Hudson was the second department to jump on board after Bedford. Bill made his famous non-traditional smash burgers -- seasoned with a local spice blend from a guy he plays tennis with, built with hot pepper American cheese and smashed avocado with pickled jalapeños, iceberg lettuce for the crunch. Deputy Chief O'Brien's plate trick for consistent thickness. Three hours of taping.
But here's the thing. When I saw that segment and recognized Bill's face, I knew this episode was going to be about a lot more than smash burgers.
What I Didn't Remember -- and What He Did
I had to hear his side of that morning. Because mine is foggy at best. I remember being in the shower and not feeling right. I remember coming out into the bedroom and telling Darryl I didn't feel good. I remember sitting on the bed and Darryl calling 911 -- and me telling him, what are you doing, I'm just sick.
Bill told me what happened after that. He showed up with a small handful of volunteer call-based responders from New Boston FD. They put me on the cardiac monitor. It showed what they suspected: a STEMI -- an ST elevation myocardial infarction. A major heart attack. And I was still in denial. I remember coming out of the house saying I think I'm okay. And someone -- I now know it was Bill -- said, no. You're getting in here.
He told me he got the IV in my foot because he couldn't find a vein anywhere else. That he hasn't forgotten that moment. That he saw me at an American Heart Association event about a year later and that's when he knew I'd made it. "Whatever your interventions were, were good enough."
Then he said something that stopped the whole room: "The layers did their job. Darryl called 911. They alerted dispatch. We got there. We did our job. We transported you. The ER did their job."
And I said what I've thought about a thousand times since. If Darryl hadn't overslept that morning -- he was supposed to leave for an early granite job before I woke up -- I don't think I'd be here. I wasn't going to call 911. I would have laid back down.
For the Women Listening
After I got home from the hospital in 2017, I went on Facebook Live. I just needed to tell people. Because I did NOT have the dramatic chest-clutching moment you see in the movies. My symptoms were different. I felt off. I was tired. My ankles were swollen -- I didn't even notice that until a couple days later. The month before the heart attack, Darryl and I were in Bermuda and I skipped scuba diving -- something we love -- because I just didn't feel like it. Something in me wasn't right but wasn't really not right either.
Women present differently. Bill confirmed it from the responder side. And the biggest takeaway he shared -- from firefighter cancer prevention training -- is two words: Know your normal. If something has changed in the last two weeks, do something. Don't wait for your six-month appointment. Go to urgent care. Don't take no for an answer.
Ladies. Listen. Please.
Food as a Band-Aid on the Inside
Bill has this line he lives by: things taste better when they're made with love. And after spending an hour with him, I believe it completely.
He talked about a deployment to New Orleans in 2005 after Katrina. He was at the New Orleans Arena with a disaster medical team. And in the middle of everything, there was an Air National Guard woman sitting crisscross applesauce on the floor, making coffee pot after coffee pot on a little Mr. Coffee machine. Just making it for whoever needed it. Bill called that cup of coffee "a band-aid on the inside for that one little moment."
That's what cooking at the firehouse is for him. Coming back from a brutal winter shift -- multiple car accidents, cold weather emergencies -- and walking in to a crockpot of root beer pulled pork. Or the stir fry he made once where the noodles were just done and the shrimp was almost ready and the alarm went off. He just put a sheet pan over the wok, turned off the burners, and hoped for the best. Came back and it was saved. "We'll still eat the food."
And then there's Dave's lemon pepper chicken. The legendary firehouse dish. Dave knows.
What Bill Wants You to Know
When I asked Bill what people don't hear enough about first responders, he talked about community risk reduction. Not fire prevention -- he reframed it as risk reduction. Smoke detectors. Carbon monoxide detectors with digital readouts. Car seat expiration dates (did you know those exist? I didn't). The car seat technicians at Manchester Police and Hudson Police. safekidsnh.org.
And he ended with something that I keep thinking about: "If we can be healthier and happier, then we're going to be able to enjoy that awesome meal or something that we value ourselves. Everyone's going to try and go home."
Oh, and yes -- Hudson Central Fire Station has a real brass fire pole. And they still use it. Bill says those who don't use it are missing out. I believe him.
Thank You, Bill
I've been running the Red Arrow for 39 years. Four locations. Open 24/7. And the thing I know after almost 40 years is that food is how people take care of each other. You feed someone when they're going through something hard. You sit down at a table together after a brutal day and something in the room gets better.
Bill Mortimer has been doing that in firehouses -- and at people's worst moments -- for his whole career. And he was there for mine. I'm so glad I finally got to say thank you.
You can find Bill and his crew at hudsonnh.gov and on Facebook at Hudson N.H. Fire Department. And if you're in Hudson and you ever need them -- 603-886-6021.
New episodes of Beyond the Plate with Carol drop every Tuesday. Find us everywhere at linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH. And if you know a woman who needs to hear the "know your normal" message -- please share this one.
-- Carol
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ABOUT CAROL ERICKSON
Carol Erickson has owned Red Arrow Diner since 1987 -- four locations across New Hampshire, open 24/7. She started Beyond the Plate to tell the real stories behind the people who make New England's food and hospitality scene what it is. Not just what's on the menu. What's behind it.
Red Arrow Diner: redarrowdiner.com | @redarrow24diner