A question sometimes asked about our Team is why do we have old antique fire trucks on a Team whose mission is to support the emotional and behavioral health of our firefighters, EMS personnel and their families? A fair question indeed, so let me explain. Well, it all started back in 2007 when our Team decided we wanted to participate in the annual Christmas parade in downtown Charleston. We decided to ask our friend Ray Bennett of the North Charleston Fire Museum to ride us in the parade on his antique American LaFrance fire truck. Well, the excitement of that day proved to us that we needed to look at our mission a little closer.
Our Team began as a response to the Sofa Super Store fire and the loss of nine good men of the Charleston Fire Department. We knew that changing the culture of the Fire Service would only be successful if we could gain the trust of those who needed us in the new mission of supporting their mental health.
After much discussion, we decided that if we were to expect our firefighters to reach out to us for help during the worst times of their lives, we needed for them to get to know us during the best times of their lives. For the last ten years, we have had antique fire trucks as a part of our mission, bringing joy, excitement and good times to the lives of all our first responders. We have participated in many weddings, birthday parties, parades, and special events in the community. We also provide our trucks to serve a more solemn purpose when we carry our firefighters who pass away to their final resting place as a symbol of our commitment to their service and to their family members.
So, please look over these photographs and you be the judge. Why do we have old fire trucks on our Team?
