Firefighters go pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Who’s to say firefighters can’t look pretty in pink?

Members of the North Bay Fire & Emergency Services rolled into the station Monday morning with expressive smiles while they bore their hot-pink T-shirts beneath their suspenders, all in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Derrick Desilets, the coordinator for their initiative, said the Province-wide support from firefighters was just another way to bring awareness to an important cause. He also mentioned seeing coverage of a pink fire truck someplace down south. 

“It is coming more to the forefront now as we hear a lot more stories from families and what they’re going through and even within our own department as well,” he said, noting that they hope people in the community who spot them sporting pink shirts wonder why and ask them.

It was decided, Desilets said, to wear the pink shirts throughout the entirety of their 24-hour shift the first workday of the month. However, he mentioned how they go through many shirts in the day as they return to the station from a call, drenched and in need of a fresh pink top.

“This is just one more thing we’ve decided to put on this year,” he said. “We’ve also been doing the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure for about six years now.”

The Run for the Cure—which took place Sunday morning, raised $50,627.39 and had 343 participants.

The month of October is labelled as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and serves to help raise awareness for breast cancer and those affected by it in an effort to save lives.  

For more information on Breast Cancer Awareness Month, you can visit the Canadian Cancer Society's website.