For the month of October, firefighters on base will wear pink shirts to help raise awareness for breast cancer. The firefighters brought up the idea of wearing the pink shirts last year, but weren’t able to get the shirts made in time.
“I really pressed the idea this year,” said Daniel Ruchka, a firefighter and emergency medical technician, here. “We passed the idea up our chain of command and we got approved in time to get the shirts ordered.
“Almost everyone I know has had someone who was a part of their lives affected by breast cancer,” said Ruchka. “I personally have been directly affected by it; that’s why I was pushing for us to wear the shirts.”
People and organizations throughout the nation are finding different ways to raise awareness for breast cancer. The Empire State Building will be illuminated in pink from Oct. 14-16 to recognize National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“We are expecting the people on base to take a second look at us and wonder why we are in pink shirts,” said Ruchka. “That’s the point of us wearing the shirts, to make people curious and want to know more about what’s going on.”
The firefighters still have uniform regulations, so not everyone at the station will be in the pink shirts at all times.
“Fire inspectors, myself, as well as firefighters who are in full gear, won’t be able to wear the pink shirts,” said Ray Harvey, deputy chief of operations for Quantico Fire and Emergency Services. “We have been given permission to wear pink ribbons when we are not able to be in the shirts.”
The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2011 there will be approximately 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer in women and about 39,520 deaths from breast cancer.
“The purpose is to get awareness out to the public,” said Harvey. “We aren’t raising money. We just want the public to be aware of what is going on and we are doing it by wearing the shirts.”
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