Blue and white are the colors traditionally associated with firefighting service, but for a month, Texas County firefighters wore pink.
Firefighters changed their hue by donning pink T-shirts in honor of October being National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and raised money through the Texas County Fire Chiefs Association for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
“Cancer in one way or another has touched just about everyone you know, and our departments are no different,” Raymondville Fire Department assistant fire chief Michael Drozdo said.
Drozdo and Arroll Fire Chief Luke Woolsey came up with the idea after seeing other fire departments from around the world adopting the pink theme for October and getting great ideas from other departments at the National Fire Academy in Maryland.
There was no hesitation by firefighters countywide to wear the pink shirts, and the Texas County Fire Chiefs Association raised about $600 for the fight against breast cancer.
Texas County firefighters sold pink short-sleeve shirts for $15 and black long-sleeves for $17. More than 100 shirts were sold in support of combating this devastating disease.
The Texas County Fire Chiefs Association plans to make selling the shirts an annual fundraiser, and will be offering them again next September.
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