Fire Buddies Spreads Cheer

Jackie O’Hara, a member of the board of the Manhattan Fire Protection District Chapter of Project Fire Buddies, Inc., said the goal is to spread a little joy in bleak circumstances.

“The organization was founded by firefighters, with a desire to offer support and give back to children fighting critical illnesses,” she explained. “We believe no child should fight their battle alone! We currently have four fire buddies in Manhattan, and I can attest to how wonderful this is for all involved.

Project Fire Buddies recently held an inaugural gala to raise funds and sold out 800 tickets within days.

“The proceeds from this event will allow us to give more to the Fire Buddy families,” O’Hara added.

“We have only been a chapter since October and, so far, we’ve helped decorate two of our fire buddies’ houses for Christmas, brought Santa in the fire engine to deliver Christmas gifts from us, and had one very memorable girls’ day with two of our fire buddies, who are sisters. The spa day we did for them was pulled together by myself and many female firefighters from different fire departments, nurses, and a hair stylist. We provided manicures, pedicures, facials, and did the girls hair for our fire buddies, their older sister, and mom. Anna and Elsa surprised the sisters and sang songs, red stories, and even helped paint their nails.

“As of now, all our families are from Manhattan, but we will be visiting the schools this month and reaching out to the social workers and principals to let them know we are doing Project Fire Buddies. Because of HIPAA privacy laws, we basically have to be referred to the families.”