Villa Grove, Tuscola, St. Joseph are among the fire departments who will wish your child a happy birthday
Here’s a good reason for a fire truck to show up at your house.
Fire departments in Villa Grove and are giving their own brand of birthday presents these days to kids who are dealing with the constraints of COVID-19 guidelines. If your child in Villa Grove or Tuscola is having a birthday, you can contact the fire department and it will come to your house for a special greeting. (On Friday, the St. Joseph-Stanton Fire District joined in the fun, too.)
To say the least, it figures to make the day of your birthday boy or girl.
“I know it would have made my day when I was younger,” said Tuscola firefighter Nick Kidwell.
The Tuscola Fire Department, which went on its first birthday run Thursday, got the idea from the Villa Grove Fire & Rescue department. “We thought, ‘That’s a fine idea, why don’t we see if we can get it going, too?'” Kidwell said.
A fire engine will come to your house, lights and sirens blaring. Kidwell said a firefighter will get on the truck’s speaker and offer a birthday greeting and, perhaps, maybe even do a little dance. But there is one thing they won’t be doing: Making contact with anyone.
“We might get out of the truck and wave or maybe do a little dance or something but we won’t make contact with them,” Kidwell said. “We’re going to stay 6 feet away or more. We don’t want to get sick and we don’t want to make anyone sick.”
Villa Grove children ages 3-8 are eligible. To get on the list, send your address, phone number and name of the child to the department.
In Tuscola, you can make a request by emailing fire chief Brian Moody at brian.moody@tuscola.org and include “TFD Birthday” in the subject line.
In St. Joseph – Stanton Fire Protection District, all children are eligible. “We understand right now kids can’t have parties with lots of kids so we thought this might bring a little excitement to their birthday!!! If you would like to schedule a fire truck “drive by” please message us on Facebook or email st.joseph-stantonfpd@comcast.net. Please include an address, phone number, date, and requested time.”