Surprise Sweetens Holiday Shift For 1st Responders in Lisle

LISLE, IL — Lisle police and firefighters got a festive surprise this Thanksgiving, when graduates of the most recent Lisle Public Safety Academy dropped by the police and fire stations to give them food, gift cards and gift certificates to show their gratitude.

Raza Siddiqui, who attended the academy along with nine other citizens, told Patch the students were eager to give back to first responders who had to work through the holiday. “We really believe in letting people know the appreciation we have for them...having to work on holidays and sacrificing time with their families," Siddiqui said.

Some students brought cookies; others brought gift cards for Starbucks and local grocery stores, so police and firefighters were able "to choose what they wanted without having to dip into their own funds," Siddiqui said, explaining that Lisle-Woodridge firefighters usually pool money to buy food for their shifts.

Siddiqui, Lisle Trustee Sara Sadat and their daughter, Myra Shaik, teamed up with Chris from the village's Sweet Spot Bakery to provide pies, making the class's gesture a continuation of a Thanksgiving tradition the family has been observing for about five years.

“Every year when we do this, we highlight one of the local bakeries in town," Sadat said, explaining her family was glad to "share our traditions with some new friends.”

“It was all about tradition," she added, "Thanksgiving to me and my family has always been about being grateful"

Myra, who told Patch she has "always wanted to be a firefighter," said she felt "happy and excited" to show her gratitude to the first responders for "everything that you guys do to keep us safe."

The Thanksgiving gesture was bittersweet for Myra and her family this year, as their Lisle home was destroyed by a fire Feb. 15.

For Siddiqui, the fire was part of the impetus to join the Lisle Public Safety Academy.

“It really was something that became more interesting to me after the fire [and] having been personally affected," he said.

Siddiqui said members of the class were the first to attend a safety academy that was presented jointly by the Lisle Police Department and the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District. This round of classes wrapped up Nov. 13.

Students saw firsthand how police and firefighters in Lisle perform an extrication after a crash, use K-9s to help with searches, perform CPR and use defibrillators to resuscitate people and how they use tactics to deescalate domestic conflicts.

Siddiqui said those who attended classes were "able to see the split-second decisions police make." He said there is "real value for the community to see how these decisions are made.”

The success of the class has inspired first responders to make the Lisle Public Safety Academy an annual offering. Siddiqui said he encourages residents to take advantage of future classes because the "understanding and knowledge that comes out of that is really invaluable.”

The classes also inspired another invaluable tradition, as those who helped surprise the first responders are eager to join Siddiqui, Sadat and their family in a similar gesture of thanks in the coming years.

Sadat said she and her family have always felt embraced by Lisle and its residents in this way since moving to the village. Through bonding over this Thanksgiving tradition, she said, that sense of community has come full circle.

She said, "That one inclusive act went around in a circle."