Fish fry turns into huge fundraiser for firefighters

Robert Richmond's free fish fry originally was intended to thank the patrons of his West Ashley bar, R Pub. Plus, he couldn't eat the 60 pounds of fish he had in his freezer.

But when tragedy struck in the form of the Sofa Super Store fire, the event went from just-for-fun to fundraiser.

The food was still free, but he placed a bucket out for donations to the families of the nine firefighters who died in the June 18 blaze.

"I didn't know what to do, but I just tried to come up with something," Richmond said.

Next door to the pub on Ashley River Road, Firehouse Subs also was accepting donations. Franchise owner Kevin Hatton recommended that Richmond place whatever he collected in a boot on the sub shop's counter — the corporate office of Firehouse Subs had agreed to match the donations raised in its three Charleston-area locations over a two-week period.

Little did they know that Charleston residents, one in particular, would dig deep in their pockets.

At R Pub, the donations trickled in, $1 bills, fives, tens and twenties. Then there was the check for $50,000 from a donor who wanted to remain anonymous.

True to its word, Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation will send a check Monday for $103,245.06 to the account set up by the city of Charleston, said Leslie Wildes, the foundation's director of community programs.

The foundation typically provides equipment — jaws of life, fire trucks, thermal imaging cameras — to emergency services departments, Wildes said.

"When we heard about the tragedy in Charleston, we wanted to get involved and see how we could help the families," she said.

Hatton, who was a firefighter before opening the sub shop, had contacted Firehouse Subs' corporate office after the fire to see what it could do.

"Those guys made the ultimate sacrifice trying to protect other people's property," he said in the restaurant with photos and murals of firefighters on the walls and tables spotted like Dalmations. "The families that are left behind, they've got the greatest loss. So there's got to be something that we can do as a community to help those guys out."

Reach Kristen Hankla at khankla@postandcourier.com or 937-5548.