BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - A 16-year-old junior firefighter sparked an overwhelming response when he reached out to other firefighters to help him through his cancer treatment.
After being diagnosed with leukemia earlier this month, Timothy Richardson said he wanted to wear a different fire company’s T-shirt every day while undergoing chemotherapy at Oishei (oh-SHY) Children’s Hospital in Buffalo.
The response has been a deluge of T-shirts from fire companies around the country. By Tuesday, an estimated 1,500 packages had arrived at the hospital - so many that the family has asked that any others be sent to the U-Crest Fire Department in Cheektowaga, the town where Timothy lives.
WGRZ-TV reports the Maryvale High School junior plans a career in firefighting, like his father. He’s in the Explorer program at the Hy-View Fire Company.
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