Local Firefighters 'Care Enough To Wear Pink'

Local firefighters will be in the pink today through the 28th to show support for those battling breast cancer.

Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department, which services Lake Elsinore, Wildomar and surrounding areas, is joining over 900 fire and police departments across the nation by participating in the 2011 national “Cares Enough to Wear Pink” campaign.

As part of the effort, Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters, dispatchers and employees will be voluntarily wearing modified T-shirts with pink logos on them. 

All of the T-shirt sale proceeds are being donated to cancer-related non-profit organizations. The “Cares Enough to Wear Pink” campaign is part of October’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“Cancer affects millions of people worldwide including firefighters,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, Cal Fire director. “There is a proven correlation between cancer and our profession, that’s why I’m proud the men and women of Cal Fire are joining me in sending a strong message that we ‘Care Enough to Wear Pink.’”

Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters participated in the Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure" event in Temecula earlier this month. As part of the event, the off-duty firefighters, families and friends raised just under $8,000 in donations for cancer research, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman Cheri Patterson.