First responders treated to Game 3 World Series tickets thanks to generous fan
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Two of the hundreds of first responders who worked during Hurricane Harvey got a chance to watch Game 3 of the World Series at Minute Maid Park thanks to a generous Astros fan.
"We got a little sleep here and there. It was pretty trying," said Houston Fire Department Captain and Texas Task Force 1 member Brad Hawthorne. "We were gone a total of 15 days."
"From Saturday when the storm hit to the following Sunday, I worked 130 hours," Michael Bingham of HFD Station No. 48 told Eyewitness News.
Hawthorne and Bingham would not have been at Game 3 if it weren't for Houston criminal defense attorney Brent Mayr.
"I thought what better way to thank them. Their spirit is what brought us to the World Series, so why not bring them to the game," said Mayr.
On Facebook, Mayr asked family and friends to submit their first responders' stories. He got dozens and selected two to host for the game.
"I wish I could have brought more, I would have bought a whole section," said Mayr, who spent "four figures" for four tickets.
Hawthorne and Bingham were among the hundreds who went above and beyond during the trying days of Hurricane Harvey and the flooding that followed. Hawthorne rescued people in Rockport with the task force and then came back to Houston to help rescue hundreds more.
Eyewitness News was there when Bingham was on the South Loop helping evacuees, plucked from their homes by helicopter, get to safety. The work during the storm was something he'd never experienced before.
"When I did get relieved, it was my son's birthday so I was just happy to get home," he said.
Bingham still tears up when thinking about the separation, which makes this "reward" as he called it, even sweeter.
"The guys at the station are a little jealous," Hawthorne said. "It's an honor."
"We get thanks all the time but it's a little different when a complete stranger does something for you like this," Bingham added.
