Firefighters help families celebrate holiday
Tree brought to one family, $2K spent to assist those in need
As a full-time firefighter, Macomb Township Sgt. Jason Dumas has found that whenever someone needs help, they call the fire department: Whether that need is for someone to fight fires, rescue cats from trees, or provide financial assistance during lean times. And firefighters are always ready to answer the call, even during a holiday in the middle of a pandemic.
“We try to do as much as we can to help the community, whenever we can,” Dumas said.
The 27 members of Macomb
Township Professional Firefighters Local 5023 provided about $2,000 this holiday season to assist three families in need, Dumas said. The full-time firefighter union, part of the an International Association of Firefighters, has a general fund that includes specific designated funds for charity.
“One of the people instrumental in making the adopt a family thing a huge success is the vice president of the local. He headed this up on his own time, on his own to get it organized, Sgt. David Nowak,” Dumas said.
Union members even stepped in to help with a special holiday wish from a Macomb Township family this year: A Christmas tree, delivered on Dec. 3.
“A tree is a big deal, it is something that everyone should have,” Dumas said.
Macomb Township firefighters had developed a good relationship with the unnamed family, due to a need to respond to medical issues at their residence on multiple occasions.
“We learned about their situation, and what they were up against,” Dumas said.
It was through this relationship that the firefighters discovered the family, which includes two children, had no tree to celebrate Christmas.
“Our members stepped up and decided to surprise them with a tree,” Dumas said.
The six-foot synthetic tree was selected for its fire-resistance. Nowack picked up the tree and the firefighters who know the family best delivered it in a COVID-19 safe manner with the drop off, surprising the family and bringing them tears.
“Everything has to be distanced and everything is not as intimate as it usually is, but it is tougher for families, obviously, because of COVID,” Dumas said.
The firefighter union also collaborated with a retired Warren firefighter, who now owns a heating and cooling business, to aid a Macomb Township family with three children in need of a new furnace. Local 5023 picked up the necessary permit fees, Dumas confirmed.
“A retired firefighter from Warren owns Schimanski Heating and Cooling (in Algonac). His business donated the furnace and one of our members assisted in putting it in,” he said.
Dumas is one of the nine full-time Macomb Township firefighters currently working out of a temporary construction trailer, as he works in the Macomb
Township region for Fire Station One. About 13 total auxiliary and paid-on-call firefighters are currently assigned to the former Fire Station One area as well.