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Lockport — While the job of firefighters and paramedics is always to offer support to families in trouble, the first responders participating in Project Fire Buddies take things to the next level, going above and beyond to support kids fighting life-threatening illnesses in their communities.
Project Fire Buddies started in the Chicago suburbs in 2016 when members of the Oak Forest Fire Department began bringing gifts and paying visits to a childhood cancer patient in their community after answering a 911 call to their house. Since then, the organization has grown to include more than 100 fire departments in Illinois, including Lockport, where three children and their families are part of the program.
“We wanted to do something to bring joy to kids who are going through a rough time. We spoil the hell out of them. Anything to bring a smile to their faces,” said Lt. Tom Clifton of the Lockport Township Fire Protection District, who coordinates not just the Lockport chapter of Project Fire Buddies, but also serves as a territory manager for 20 chapters of the organization throughout the south suburbs and Joliet.
“We’ve been growing a lot,” Clifton said. “We went from 38 to 100 chapters in just a few years, so when they put out a call for somebody to oversee the territory, I threw my name in right away.”
Included in Clifton’s territory are chapters from Joliet, New Lenox, Bolingbrook and Manhattan, which each serves its own list of fire buddies, totaling about 25 kids.
Kids who qualify are first welcomed to the program by the firefighters with a mini parade through their neighborhood with lights and sirens blaring and are given gifts by the volunteers from the fire department and, sometimes, their families – including Clifton’s two daughters, and his wife, Kim, who also works as an administrative assistant for the organization.
“We like to make a lot of noise,” Clifton joked. “We bring presents for the fire buddy, but also for their siblings, and we spend time with the family.”
Clifton emphasized that fire buddies are not just treated to one day of special treatment, but a whole support system.
“Our goal is to become their friends,” he said. “We get to know the family and we build a relationship with them. We bring gifts and spend time with them on birthdays and holidays and other milestones. If a kid beats cancer, we go watch them ring the bell at the hospital, we invite them over for movie nights at the fire station. It’s not a one-and-done thing.”
Kids in the program continue to receive support for a full year after they beat their illness, and firefighters keep contact with them going forward, even after they age out of the program at 18.
“We don’t forget about them,” Clifton said.
While managing the Fire Buddies program is a big responsibility, it is not Clifton’s only philanthropic work. The 15-year veteran of the Lockport Township Fire Protection District also serves on the board of Lockport Love and volunteers in its annual holiday gift drive for families in need and assists with the LTFPD’s Thanksgiving Food Drive each year, which sees firefighters partnering with local grocery stores to get donations for food pantries in Lockport and Romeoville.
“We wanted to do something to bring joy to kids who are going through a rough time.”
— Lieutenant Tom Clifton, Lockport Township Fire Protection District
During the holidays he also joins in the Lights and Ladders program, which helps bring cheer to families who are struggling by helping them put lights on their houses.
Lockport Love is a local initiative benefiting families in the township who are having financial hardships and is supported by the Lockport fire and police departments as well as local businesses and other community organizations like the Girl Scouts. As a board member, Clifton assists with selecting families for holiday support and he and Kim help shop for the families. Volunteers then take part in a Christmas parade to deliver gifts to families.
In addition to serving as a firefighter and paramedic with the LTFPD, Clifton also is a Hazardous Material Team leader, fire investigator and is the department’s Honor Guard commander, which provides escorts for fallen firefighters at funerals and participates in local 9/11 memorials each year.
“I have a hard time saying no,” he said with a laugh when asked about the extensive list of hats he wears. “I don’t do it for the recognition.”
When asked why he chooses to spend so much extra time and energy dedicated to these community causes, Clifton says it’s his way of giving back.
“I consider myself fortunate,” he said. “I’ve always worked, but I’ve never had a problem paying for my house or food, and I have two healthy girls. If we can do anything to help bring a smile to someone’s face when they’re struggling, it feels good, and it’s different than just helping somebody on an emergency call when things are at their worst.”