A child’s world is so very small.
It’s measured by the length of a summer afternoon, ends at the backyard fence, and is sustained by a parent’s touch. It needn’t be logical or intelligible. It need only be consistent, where the only surprises are fun ones. And when a child is tempted into a tantrum by the sheer unfairness of life—when the balloon pops or Santa brings Hot Wheels instead of Transformers—we try to hide our smile yet may feel a pang too, because we know how desperately unfair life truly can be.
Consider the child, then, whose world—in mere moments, it must seem—grows unimaginably vast yet no larger than a hospital room in the pediatric unit, where strangers with practiced smiles speak in hushed tones, pastel color schemes do nothing to warm the sterile whiteness, and nights are empty, lonely, and deathly still.
That child needs a buddy.
Needs a Fire Buddy.
Late this summer, Local 4600 of the Indiana Association of Fire Fighters, representing the career members of the Chesterton Fire Department, became the 100th chapter of Project Fire Buddies, a nonprofit whose mission is to “adopt” critically or chronically ill children—kids snake-bit by bad breaks or long odds, who are hospitalized, recovering from major surgery, or in ongoing treatment—and to make familiar again the alien worlds into which they’ve suddenly been thrust, to scale them down with friendship and kindness.
Firefighter Justin Lewis was introduced to Project Fire Buddies in April, while visiting Manhattan, Ill., where he had occasion at a “huge Irish event” to meet a few of the members of a chapter there. It didn’t take those guys much to twist his arm. “I was thinking, ‘This is good, Chesterton would eat this up, I’m taking this home with me,’” Lewis recalls.
He did and Local 4600 found it an eminently worthy cause.
Project Fire Buddies, Lewis notes, is a lot like the Make-A-Wish Foundation “but through the fire department.”
Fire Buddies may present a child with a special, much-desired gift or tickets to a concert or sporting event. Share a few laughs while watching the child’s favorite TV program or playing a game. Pay a home visit loudly announced by a parade of fire apparatus, sirens howling and lights strobing. Celebrate birthdays and holidays. Invite the child to the fire house, for a meal with the crew and a tour.
But Fire Buddies spare a care as well for the child’s siblings, who in their own way have gotten the short end of the stick and whose own worlds have become unrecognizable, with hours out of the house spent in waiting rooms, or hours stuck inside it under the care of a sitter.
“Not only as an organization do we do cool things for sick children, we also do cool things for the siblings, because they’re affected by the illness too,” Lewis says. “Mom and Dad are spending a lot of time at the hospital or doctors’ appointments, so we also do things for them.”
“As firefighters, as first-responders, we see a lot of bad stuff,” Lewis acknowledges. “Fire Buddies brings good. It’s another way for us to branch out into the community, to make people’s lives special. We’re firefighters helping the community.”
Town Council Member Erin Collins, D-2nd—who serves as liaison to the CFD—is delighted by Local 4600’s involvement in the initiative. “The Fire Buddies program represents a power network, at last count, of 107 chapters across nine states, all united in a shared mission: To support and uplift children battling critical illnesses,” she says. “This program is the embodiment of compassion, strength, and the indomitable human spirit. And now Chesterton is proud to be part of this inspiring movement.”
“As a councilwoman, I have the privilege of witnessing firsthand the profound impact of CFD Local 4600 in our community,” Collins notes. “Local 4600 was recently recognized by the Duneland Chamber of Commerce as its 2024 Volunteer of the Year and I can confirm that this award is well deserved. Hosting the Easter Egg Hunt at Dogwood Park, organizing fundraising events, and participating in Fire Buddies are just a few ways these men and women make a huge impact on our beautiful town.”
“Let us celebrate Local 4600’s compassion and unwavering dedication to our community,” Collins adds. “And let us join them in embracing the spirit of the Fire Buddies program, because together we can make a difference in the lives of those children and families who need our support the most.”
Local 4600 and Collins are urging folks to support Project Fire Buddies and help to bring comfort to a struggling child, by buying tickets for a pancake breakfast fundraiser at George’s Gyros Spot, from 7 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 16.
Ticket are going for $10 each. Stop by the CFD station, 702 Broadway, and get yours now!
For more information on Project Fire Buddies, go to https://www.projectfirebuddies.org/
Or visit the Swag Store at https://www.pfbswag.com/
