LYNNWOOD — More than 60 Lynnwood Fire Department members will don pink duty shirts to raise awareness of breast cancer through the end of the month.
“Within our own department, many lives have been touched with friends and family impacted by breast cancer,” said Christine McCroskey, a firefighter and paramedic. “In a male-dominated occupation, we forget that we are all touched by it through sisters, mothers and co-workers.”
Wearing pink in uniform was McCroskey’s idea of how the Lynnwood Fire Department could raise awareness of the disease. The hope is to project a positive image of the department while presenting a different face of firefighters and paramedics — putting them in an education role about an important health topic.
“It’s a way for firefighters to get into a larger conversation,” said Phil Pons, a firefighter, paramedic and secretary-treasurer of the IAFF Local 1984 union. “It is a shock to see firefighters wearing pink. It draws attention and helps us start the conversation about breast cancer awareness.
“There is a preconceived notion of what our uniform entails,” he added. “We want to mix it up a bit. We are a major source of health care in our community. But that is generally in an emergency. We don’t often get to be seen in a preventative face. We are hoping that when people see pink, it will be a reminder to schedule a mammogram.”
Lynnwood firefighters wanted to further expand their support of breast cancer awareness, so they are offering commemorative T-shirts for the public.
T-shirts are available for $15 at fire houses in Lynnwood. Proceeds will go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
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