Pink Shirts?!!

There might not be too many things more comical than seeing a bunch of firefighters covered in soot, cleaning off tools and fire hose all in matching pink shirts; believe me, we've taken our fair share of teasing! Not that there is anything wrong with pink but I guess it's just not the first color you probably think of for a firefighter's duty uniform.

For the month of October the Affton Fire Protection District's employees are wearing pink in support of women affected by cancer. "Too many women have been diagnosed with this awful disease and we are happy to help raise awareness in any way we can," says Firefighter/Paramedic Aaron Rhodes, who coordinated the massive order of pink tee shirts. "We had so many people stopping us and complementing our shirts that we put together a rush order, and slightly different design, for an off-duty version that non-employees could wear." The organizers set the shirt prices a bit higher than the actual cost and raised over $600 in three days of sales to be donated to a local women's cancer support charity. "It was a last minute idea and we had to get the order in so the shirts would be ready for the last week in October. We could have sold so many more than we did but we simply ran out of time. Next year we plan to start gathering orders much earlier," Rhodes explains.

When the idea was first brought to the chiefs of the district they were very excited and supportive. "The idea was a big hit with everyone from the very start," says Firefighter/Paramedic Ian Shay who also helped with the shirts. "We are fortunate to have a good relationship with our administration so that when these ideas come up we can move on them quickly," he adds. "We are also grateful for the orders we got from our friends at Schnucks, St. Anthony's ER, Color Art Interiors and Seven Holy Founders." Ian wanted to add an apology to the large amount of requests that had to be turned down after the final order form had been sent in.

The firefighters are planning to send out information on ordering shirts for next October in August 2012 for anyone who may be interested. They would also like to say "Thank you" to Erin Shay for designing the logo for the shirt.

* The Affton Firefighters would like to request that if you see someone wearing any pink in support of women affected by cancer this month; give them a smile or a wave as a gesture of support. Let's work together to raise awareness of the disease and support for our women!

Captain Ben Waser

Affton Fire District