Despite coronavirus, Beaufort County’s fire departments are making birthdays special
Like most kids, Novaa had been looking forward to her birthday for a really long time.
She was turning 5 and going to have a big party with lots of family, friends and classmates.
But as the days got closer to April 5, Novaa’s mom, Brittany Hamm, knew it wouldn’t be possible during the coronavirus crisis.
“It hurt my heart,” Hamm said. “It was very sad, and she didn’t understand. She just thought nobody wanted to come for the party.”
But Hamm was determined to make Novaa’s birthday the best ever. Not even a global pandemic could stop a determined mother.
She wrote a post on their neighborhood’s Facebook page asking for people in Mint Farm to drive by and honk at Novaa for her birthday Sunday.
They did, even bringing gifts and cards that they carefully handed out their car windows. Little Novaa was delighted, jumping and waving in her blue tutu, shouting “thank you,” at every car that passed.
But then, things got really special.
Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office vehicles and a Burton Fire District engine drove up with their sirens on full blast.
Eventually, the vehicles parked, and first responders stood across the street to keep a safe distance while singing “Happy Birthday.”
What did Novaa think?
“It was the best!” she said Thursday.
“She hasn’t stopped talking about it,” Hamm laughed. “It was very awesome for the community to come together like this and put smiles on everyone’s faces.”
During a time when the coronavirus has altered how we do most everything, including celebrating life milestones, some fire departments in Beaufort County are bringing joy to the communities they serve.
Burton Fire District has a handful of kids it’s visiting through the end of the week, spokesperson Capt. Dan Byrne said.
“This is a serious virus, and people need to take it seriously,” Byrne said. “We’re trying to balance safety and the fact that children deserve to have their birthdays recognized.”
He said Burton Fire visits kids for their birthdays whenever the department is able. Now, those visits are more important than ever and allow first responders to stay visible in the community.
“We represent calm and safety and security,” Byrne said. “We want to bring (people) that normalcy in their life, and we’ve really made an effort to do that.”
The Beaufort/Port Royal Fire Department is also taking the time for small celebrations.
The department sent a fire engine and squad car to join a caravan of friends and family celebrating Beaufort resident Jonah’s 7th birthday Wednesday.
Jonah’s mom, Cally Garcia, coordinated the parade of cars to surprise him.
“I never thought that would happen,” Jonah said. “I felt excited.”
Once she knew the cars were ready, Garcia took Jonah to the edge of their home’s driveway, which had a big blue 7 drawn in chalk. Before long, the stream of cars began.
“My heart just lit up just seeing Jonah’s face and how excited he was,” Garcia said. “And, just to see some joy come out of this stressful time for everybody.”
Ross Vezin, battalion chief of training and education for the department, noted that It’s important for the community to know who their first responders are and that they are there for them.
Fire departments are safe places, he added, but unfortunately with social distancing and other precautions prompted by the coronavirus, people can’t visit stations.
“This is another way we can still be involved with the community but ensure we are still following the governor’s orders,” Vezin said.
The department doesn’t limit its celebrations to kids. On Thursday, it honored a woman on her 83rd birthday.
Fire departments in the southern part of the county are also partaking in the fun.
Bluffton Township Fire District has received more than 40 requests for what it’s calling “birthday breeze-bys,” Capt. Lee Levesque said.
“We’re rocking it,” he said. “We’re glad we can participate and bring a little joy.”
The department has a variety of versions of the “Happy Birthday” song it plays over loud speakers as it drives through the birthday boy or girl’s neighborhood.
Typically, the department doesn’t attend birthday parties but instead invites the person and their friends and family to visit the station. That’s not possible with social distancing practices right now, Levesque said.
The firefighters on the engine doing the birthday calls are off-duty and volunteering, but if an emergency happens, they would be able to respond if they were closer to the scene than the engines on standby.
Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue had planned to to start helping islanders celebrate their birthdays Friday. But the department received so many requests, it started a day early. On Thursday alone, the department sent fire engines with “birthday lights and sirens” to seven different homes, fire marshal Joheida Fister said.
“We are out in the community so much on a regular basis, and it’s something we love to do,” Fister said. “So when all this started to happen, we felt like we needed to do something, and this was one way we could still connect with people.”
She said the department had more than 52 requests as of Thursday.
“This is a way for us to give back and make sure that people have a good birthday,” she said, “and hopefully, it brings some joy.”
This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 4:30 AM with the headline "Despite coronavirus, Beaufort County’s fire departments are making birthdays special."
