The movie is fictional, but the fact remains: Cooking and firefighting go together like linguine and clam sauce (a staple in firehouse kitchens).

Philadelphia firefighters in particular have a long, proud tradition of breaking bread together. So when the Hallmark folks decided to create a cookbook of firehouse recipes in conjunction with the movie, they turned to our hometown men and women, at the ready with pasta salads and potato soups, as well as grilled citrus/maple salmon with asparagus and sesame mayonnaise.

Among the contributors was Chief Michael Touchstone, who appeared on NBC's 10! Show last week, cooking those salmon and asparagus dishes. (Those and other recipes from firehouses nationwide are in the Hallmark cookbook, which can be downloaded free of charge at Hallmarkchannel.com. It will not be sold in stores.)

Touchstone, a paramedic who leads emergency medical services training at the department's Fire Training Academy, says there's a good reason food is tightly woven into the firefighting culture.

"The person you're sitting next to may be the person who will have your back when you're out on a fire call," Touchstone says. "You want to know and trust that person because your life depends on it."

Philadelphia firefighters are assigned to work units called platoons, and each platoon, comprising about 11 men and women, works the same weekly shift (two days, two nights in a row) for an extended period so it becomes a tight team.

Not to diminish the role of police officers, but their situation is different, Touchstone says.

"They're in cars, driving around . . . and they can go out of service on a lunch break sometimes."

Not so for firefighters.

Once the shift starts, they're glued. Like it or not, they're going to eat in the firehouse. And it is far less expensive to cook in than order out.

Besides, by sharing meals, the platoon acts and feels like a family. That's the point.

"The fire department is like a family," Touchstone says. "You spend more time with the people in the house than your real family."

Meals play the same role at the firehouse as in a classic American family, Touchstone says.

"That time together gives you a strong foundation to build on a group. Traditions develop and grow. The bond that happens around the kitchen table is our strength."

Gather round the table at Engine 20 at 10th and Cherry Streets in Chinatown, known as House of Dragons, for a meal of grilled pork chops, bread stuffing, and glazed carrots - and a primer on meal-time traditions.

"Get the medics fed first," says Capt. Dennis Merrigan. Ambulance calls outnumber fire calls, so medics' meals are interrupted the most.

In addition to doing their own shopping, cooking and cleaning, the platoon members pay for all their meals - roughly $20 a week.The food may sometimes be fancy here, but never the service. The buffet line starts in the kitchen, and each man (there happen to be no women in the station on this night) helps himself to heaping portions, directly from the pots and pans.

Somebody clears the clutter from the table, but nobody bothers to wipe it. Here, drinking soda from the can is perfectly acceptable, and the television set stays on.