Firehouse gear is fascinating--shiny red trucks, tall ladders, long hoses. The Snyder brothers, Cory, 13, and Brock, 11, of Bowie, Maryland, get especially fired up about fire-fighting equipment. They bought $35,000 worth for the Bowie Volunteer Fire Department, and are hot to help out even more.
Last year the boys saw a story on the NBC TV program Dateline about an Oklahoma mother who raised $25,000 to buy a helmet called an IRIS (Infrared Imaging System) for her town's fire department. Its special goggles allow fire fighters to see clearly through smoke. It could have saved her three children, whom fire fighters couldn't find during a smoky rescue attempt.
"I just don't want anyone else to die in a fire like those three kids did," says Cory. He and Brock, both Boy Scouts, began a fund-raising campaign called Project Rescue Vision to raise $25,000 for an IRIS for their fire department.
With the help of about 50 kids, including their 6-year-old sister Makenzie, they sent approximately 10,000 letters asking for money from major corporations in and around Bowie. They met with business leaders. They even held raffles.
About four months later, on Fire Prevention Day in October 1996, the Snyders presented the IRIS to the fire department. Last month on Fire Prevention Day, they donated two SCBA (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus) units and three gas monitors, which measure poison levels in the air. All that cost $10,000. Project Rescue Vision is working to raise $12,000 for the Jaws of Life, a device that helps fire fighters rescue people trapped in cars.
"Help out your community," urges Brock. "Get up and do something!"