Pink Fire Truck Visits Life Care Center Of Cleveland

An unusual sight greeted residents and associates at Life Care Center of Cleveland, Tn., on Oct. 15 – a bright pink fire truck in the front courtyard.

“I want that truck, and they won’t give it to me,” joked resident Frances Carringer. “That thing is beautiful. Can you imagine sitting up there driving that?”

The truck belonged to the Chattanooga chapter of Pink Heals, an organization that uses pink fire trucks to bring awareness and support to women and families with cancer.

Firefighters volunteer their time off duty to take the Pink Heals trucks to community businesses and homes. Along with the truck, they dress up in pink firefighting suits and bring merchandise to sell to raise funds for local charities that give directly to women and children with cancer. 

The trucks themselves are testimonies. Each one is dedicated to a woman or girl who has lost the battle with cancer – the Chattanooga vehicle is dedicated to Kennedy Griffith, a 16-year-old girl who passed away in 2012 of osteosarcoma. In addition, every truck is covered with signatures either in honor of or memory of a woman or girl with cancer.

Throughout the morning, residents and associates from Life Care Center of Cleveland came out to sign the truck, buy T-shirts and cozies and take photos.

“If we can help raise awareness and support families with cancer, that’s what we want to do,” said Robert Baty, president of the Pink Heals Chattanooga Chapter and a firefighter in Jasper.

Mr. Baty knows firsthand what it’s like to support women with cancer. He lost his grandmother to lymphoma, and one of his fellow firefighters lost his wife to breast cancer.

Melanie Tate, who joined Mr. Baty in volunteering that day, has also been touched by cancer. She lost her father to thyroid cancer and has a friend with breast cancer.

“We do what we do out of love, and that’s the most important thing,” Mr. Baty said.