Fire Crews Go Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness

When Cinnaminson firefighters rushed in duty in October, they donned their Nomex hoods, as normal, to protect their heads and ears. But this month, in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, those hoods changed colors from black to pink.

Nearly the entire switched their hoods to pink to both honor victims and survivors of breast cancer and to raise money for cancer research.

“Everyone involved paid out of their own pockets for these,” Chief Bill Kramer said as he showed off a pink hood, which costs about $30. “We wanted to do our part to mark this month.”

Standing among his colleagues at Cinnaminson Day, Lt. Josh Friedrich could name several whose family members—including his grandmother—have had breast cancer.

“It’s unfortunate, but we all know someone touched by breast cancer,” he said. "We all do."

The disease even hit their own ranks. Jean Dietrick, the department’s business administrator, is a breast cancer survivor. Watching the department turn pink for October is touching, she said.

“This is a very important cause to me, and to see them all support it is very moving,” Dietrick said. “They’re my family and they provided me nothing but support when I went through treatment.”

Cinnaminson firefighters also donned special breast cancer stickers on their helmets throughout October. While the crews will keep the hoods to use again next October, the department will buy new stickers each year so the purchase money supports additional research efforts.