Redmond High School wood-shop students spent more than three years crafting a piece of furniture that allows everyone on the Redmond Fire & Rescue shift to gather together.

The intricate wooden table replaces a rather bland conference table that had been used by fire crews for many years, according to Fire Marshal Tom Mooney.

Mooney said the firehouse “kitchen table” is a critical place where employees gather to bond, communicate and rehash emergency response.

“One of the most sacred areas of a firehouse, not to mention one of the most sacred aspects of a firefighter’s career, is the firehouse kitchen table,” noted a news release from the fire department.

In 2019, Cpt. Josh Clark of Redmond Fire & Rescue contacted Allen Wheeler, the wood-shop teacher at Redmond High School, to inquire if students would be interested in building a new kitchen table for the department.

Later that same year, the fire department bought wood from a local shop, and the Redmond High school students set to working on the table. Just as quickly as work began on the table, it was halted due to the pandemic. However, Redmond High students kept at it once classes resumed and finished the projects in less than three years.