Pullman Fire Department goes pink

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Pink T-shirts and donation boots are just two ways the Pullman Fire Department is raising money for breast cancer research this month.

The Pullman Fire Department is teaming up with Susan G. Komen Passionately Pink for the Cure to raise the money.

The department is aiming to raise $1,000 for Passionately Pink by the end of the month.

Chris Volk, EMT and secretary-treasurer of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 1892, the Pullman branch, said the Pullman department became involved through a partnership.

“It is a great way to support breast cancer awareness and also the IAFF charitable fund,” Volk said.

Mark Johnson, Lieutenant and Sergeant in Arms of IAFF Local 1892, said the department was very willing to get involved in the project to fight cancer.

“We are always looking for ways to help and give back to the community,” Johnson said. “Everyone has been touched by cancer in one way or another, so it was a good and easy fit for us.”

The department members are wearing pink T-shirts as part of their uniform for the month in support of the cause. T-shirts similar to the ones worn by the department are being sold for $25 to the public.

“It’s fun to show support by wearing the pink shirts,” Andrew Chiavaras, paramedic and President of IAFF Local 1892, said.

All proceeds from the shirts go to Passionately Pink.

In addition to wearing pink shirts, the department is hosting a fundraiser with Sports Page Tavern and has donation containers at Thomas Hammer Coffee and Daily Grind.

On Oct. 19, the Sports Page Tavern will donate 20 percent of its sales to Passionately Pink.

“They have been fantastic to work with,” Chiavaras said. “We were just asking for a dollar for a certain type of beer sale to go to Passionately Pink, but they ended up saying that they will give us 20 percent of sales for that day. That was incredible.”

Thomas Hammer Coffee and the Daily Grind on Main Street have donation boots outside their stands and will take donations for the rest of the month.

The department is not fundraising just because of the union partnership; many fire fighters have personal experiences that make them want to get involved. Johnson, for example, lost a family member.

“My mother was a professor at WSU and died of ovarian cancer,” Johnson said. “Oddly enough, one of her best friends had breast cancer the same time she was diagnosed with her cancer. So this cause just really hits home for me.”

Chiavaras also has a family connection to the issue – his father had cancer.

 “I know it affects a lot of families, so we are going to do our best to raise money to support research to get rid of or cure this cancer,” he said.