--- title: Waitress' Small Act of Kindness Brought Tears to Firefighter's Eyes description: "I started tearing up and it made me feel good – us firefighters are wanted, people care about us," the firefighter said canonical: https://time.com/3972178/waitress-firefighter-new-jersey/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-25T13:32:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:22:32.446Z og:title: A Waitress' Small Act of Kindness Stuns Firefighter og:description: It brought tears to his eyes og:url: https://time.com/3972178/waitress-firefighter-new-jersey/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91fa5ae7656551c0/69885c74f887dc1ab8e9188b/firefighter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3412 og:image:height: 1919 og:image:alt: fireman og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Waitress' Small Act of Kindness Stuns Firefighter twitter:description: It brought tears to his eyes twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91fa5ae7656551c0/69885c74f887dc1ab8e9188b/firefighter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Waitress' Small Act of Kindness Brought Tears to This Firefighter's Eyes > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Caitlin Keating/People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Caitlin Keating/People Contributor Jul 25, 2015 1:32 PM UTC  Rear view of fireman wearing oxygen tank Rear view of fireman wearing oxygen tankGetty Images by [Caitlin Keating/People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Caitlin Keating/People Contributor Jul 25, 2015 1:32 PM UTC After a long night on the job, the only thing a New Jersey firefighter expected when he stopped at Route 130 diner in Delran on Thursday was a good meal. While enjoying his breakfast, firefighter Paul Hullings of the Hainesport Fire Department started talking to his waitress, Liz Woodward. While she heard him speak about the details of his day – putting out a massive fire that broke out in a North Brunswick, New Jersey, warehouse Wednesday morning – she decided to pick up his $15 tab, [according to WPVI-TV](http://6abc.com/news/nj-firefighters-pay-it-forward-after-waitress-pays-their-tab/875750/). On the back of the check she wrote, “Your breakfast is on me today – Thank you for all that you do; for serving others & for running into the places everyone else runs away from. No matter your role, you are courageous, brave, and strong … Thank you for being bold and badass everyday! Fueled by fire and driven by courage – what an example you are. Get some rest.” Hullings was taken aback by the kind act. “I started tearing up and it made me feel good – us firefighters are wanted, people care about us,” he told the news outlet. His colleague, Tim Young of the Mount Holly Fire Department, posted the note on Facebook. Before he knew it, it was being shared everywhere. “I know it’s being remarked as this extraordinary act. It’s small. It’s a little gesture,” Woodward told WPVI. Her simple but generous act inspired the firefighters to pay it forward. After they learned that Woodward is trying to [raise money for her quadriplegic father](http://www.gofundme.com/woodwardstrong), who is in need of a wheelchair-accessible van, both Young and Hullings decided to help out. “If we have to do a fundraiser, we’ll do whatever we can to help,” said Hullings. _This_ [_article_ ](http://www.people.com/article/new-jersey-waitress-pays-firefighters-tab)_originally appeared on_[ _People.com_](http://www.people.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3972178/waitress-firefighter-new-jersey/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3972178/waitress-firefighter-new-jersey/"},"headline":"A Waitress' Small Act of Kindness Brought Tears to This Firefighter's Eyes","datePublished":"2015-07-25T13:32:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:22:32.446Z","description":"\"I started tearing up and it made me feel good – us firefighters are wanted, people care about us\"","url":"https://time.com/3972178/waitress-firefighter-new-jersey/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Appreciation"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91fa5ae7656551c0/69885c74f887dc1ab8e9188b/firefighter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Caitlin Keating/People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91fa5ae7656551c0/69885c74f887dc1ab8e9188b/firefighter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"fireman","caption":"fireman","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3972178/waitress-firefighter-new-jersey/","name":"A Waitress' Small Act of Kindness Brought Tears to This Firefighter's Eyes"}}]}] ```