Hot dogs and warm thanks

Event shows appreciation to Frankfort, IL, Fire Department after series of tragic incident

Frankfort, IL, is a community that has been wracked with tragedy recently. The village in the southwestern suburbs of Chicago has seen a summer that has included strong derecho winds, the death of an off-duty officer, a kindergartener who died after being hit by a school bus, and the tragic death of a 2-year-old child in a domestic violence incident. Needless to say, the first responders of this community have endured weeks of horrific events both physically and emotionally taxing. 
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Local cheer coach and pediatric transport nurse for Advocate Children’s Hospital, Danielle Bergman, couldn’t let the days go by without showing her appreciation for the brave men and women. Her small idea blossomed and Thursday, Sep. 17, Bergman organized a community event that included free food from Joey’s Red Hots food truck, snacks for all the shifts, a visit from five LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs, and the presentation of a special LCC Hearts of Mercy & Compassion heart to the Frankfort Fire Department.

“The first responders in Frankfort have faced an unimaginable series of tragedies over the past week,” Bergman said. “On behalf of the Frankfort Falcon Cheer Association, we are providing food to the first responders both on and off shift.”

Police officers and other community members joined their brethren on a day that started rainy but turned into a sunny afternoon. The perfect day for these dedicated responders to enjoy some great Vienna beef dogs and cheese fries, chat with the ministry teams, pet and give a little love to the furry Comfort Dogs, and hear the endless thank yous from an appreciative community. 

Tim Laabs, HMC Project Manager, presented Frankfort Fire Chief Paul Kinsella with a heart filled with words of thanks from LCC staff and featuring a Bible verse that read, “Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12).

Kinsella said the men were all doing pretty good after the recent events, although for a couple guys it was a little tougher. One fireman noted that the chief took very good care of them. “He made sure everyone was okay, and he let us all take it easy afterwards,” the fireman said. “He’s a good guy.”

The K-9 Comfort Dogs enjoyed their time with the dedicated men and women, letting them scratch their ears and pet their heads. One police officer shared that he had a K-9 partner and compared the two types of working dogs.

Ministry members handed out Comfort Dog cards and coloring books to the children that came. But mostly, the day was about showing the firefighters some love.

Bethesda Comfort Dog posted on her Facebook page: “Frankfort has had a lot of stressful events over the past months and needed a lot of comfort from our team! We were happy to see them all smiling and relaxed!”

And Shadrach said, “When emergencies happen, our first responders are always there to help. They see a lot of tragedies, and it can take a toll on them. It's been a very hard month so far for the Frankfort community and especially for their fire department.”

Bergman noted that the event felt like there was a higher power stepping in. “It all came together in 12 hours with a huge amount of support from everybody,” she said. “We were just going to do catering and it turned into not just our cheer squad but the whole organization wanting to do something and it just snowballed into this, which is amazing.”

Bergman said when she contacted Joey’s Red Hots to place the catering order, the food truck owners right away said, “no, no, we got this. We’ll just come out and donate and be there for you guys.”

That allowed Bergman’s group to spoil the firefighters even more. The money they had collected for the catering was then used to purchase a large amount of snacks and protein drinks that the cheer girls will deliver to each of the five firehouses in Frankfort.

So for a brief sunny day, the Frankfort, IL, Fire Department enjoyed free food, K-9 cuddles, words of appreciation and a thankful heart that will be hanging on the firehouse wall. All gestures of gratitude for the brave men and women that put their lives in danger every day.
 
K-9 Teams Attending:
Dan Fulkerson and Sue Olson with Michael (LCC – Northbrook, IL)
Barb Granado and Mike Flaherty with Grace (LCC – Northbrook, IL)
Lea Kelly with Bethesda (St. Matthew – Hawthorn Woods, IL)
Jeff Suzuki with Shadrach (Prince of Peace – Palatine, IL)
Barb and Eric Warmbold with Samson (Zion – Marengo, IL)

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