A McDonald's employee was reportedly fired from an upstate New York location, after she paid for a group of firefighters' meals.
23-year-old Olean resident Heather Levia told the New York Daily News she was allegedly let go from her job at the fast food franchise after some hungry fire officials came to the restaurant. They told Levia they'd just come from battling a blaze nearby, prompting the mother of twins to offer paying for the meal.
Levia said she was on a morning shift when the ladder men entered the McDonald's. She took orders for their 25 burgers, then reached into her own pocket to foot part of the $153 bill.
Two other employees split the firefighters' tab, the Daily News reported. Levia said she paid $83 of the bill.
When WIVB asked Levia why she decided to help pay, she simply replied: "Just because I appreciate everything they do."
A few hours later, another crew of fire officials entered the McDonalds and ordered about $70 worth of eats, according to the Daily News.
Levia, who wanted to give the firefighters the same deal she offered to the previous group, then sent a text message to her boss asking if she give them any kind of discount. Her boss said no.
When Levia and two other co-workers picked up the firefighters' tab, the emergency responders got in touch with her boss. They wondered why Levia, and not the company, had paid the bill.
Levia's superiors informed her the next morning that they were letting her go. Her two co-workers were not fired, the Daily News reported.
Levia's manager said she cursed at one of her bosses, but the 23-year-old told the Daily News it wasn't true.
"I did say this is 'freaking' ridiculous, but it was not implied to anybody," she stated.
McDonald's has not yet released an official reason for Levia's release from the company, where she's worked for the past eight years.
Owner of the Olean McDonald's Tom Meyers told the Daily News he is an "ardent supporter" of firefighters and other emergency response teams.
