Deepa Bharath Barbecue lovers may call it...

Deepa Bharath

Barbecue lovers may call it a dream machine. Lloyd Ikerd just

calls it “a legacy.”

In three weeks, Ikerd, a member of the Newport Beach Chamber of

Commerce’s Commodores Club, designed a mammoth custom-built grill on

a trailer on which firefighters cooked up more than 1,000 hot dogs

for their Public Safety Day on Oct. 6.

The grill was donated to the Fire Department by the Commodores

Club. It was Ikerd’s brainchild.

The unit itself is a custom trailer 12 feet long, 4 1/2 feet wide

and 4 feet tall. It includes large grills, griddles for pancakes, two

built-in Igloo coolers to store meat and even a stainless steel sink.

And it’s all powered by three propane tanks.

Ikerd helped the Long Beach Fire Department put together a similar

grill more than 15 years ago.

“It’s a great legacy for the firefighters that will last for at

least 20 years if used well,” he said.

The grill can also serve up to 5,000 people in case of an

emergency, Ikerd said.

Newport Beach Fire Chief Tim Riley said his department is

“overwhelmed by the wonderful gift.”

“It’s a pretty neat idea,” he said. “We could put it to good use

at community events and our own events.”

Riley said he wants to use the grill to support various local

groups and schools.

“We do several events a year like the Relay for Life at Newport

Harbor High School, the Hot Dog Cookout, our blood drive, Fourth of

July at the American Legion Pancake Breakfast,” he said. “The grill

would be great on these occasions.”

The grill will also come in handy in times of emergency, said fire

engineer Ron Gutierrez, the event coordinator for the Newport Beach

Firefighters Assn.

“There may be disasters when we won’t have gas or power,” he said.

Commodore Bill Pierpoint helped Ikerd raise funds for the grill,

which cost about $12,000, excluding several parts that were donated.

“We could’ve got corporations to give us the money,” he said. “But

we didn’t take those offers. We wanted it to come from the community,

not a corporation.”

Pierpoint applauded Ikerd for designing the “super grill.”

“He basically dreamed it up on paper and made it happen,” he said.

“We all knew what it would be, but we never imagined it would be so

awesome.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].