According to Brownwood Fire Chief Del Albright, the department has wanted to obtain Class A uniforms for formal events for quite some time; however cost was prohibitive until a generous donation from the Shannon Stone Memorial Fund made it possible.
Dressed in the new uniforms, Chief Albright presented firefighters to the council and public to view as he described their significance.
The Class A uniform is worn as a symbol of all the traditions the fire department holds dearly and means a great deal to those who wear it in fire service, according to Albright.
“The uniform is not worn to bring recognition to one’s self, but is designed as respect to the service. When worn on special occasions it is meant to bring respect to the event or occasion,” explained Albright. “The uniform has stripes on the sleeves to recognize the rank of the person wearing it. The badge, rank and bugles on the hat symbolize their rank, and clusters of bugles on the sleeve show the years of service in fire service, five years for each. The chaplain wears a cross on his sleeve indicating he is the chaplain of our department. These are very expensive but something very dear to our hearts.”
Until these uniforms were donated, Chief and Assistant Chief Shuey had the only Class A uniforms in the department. They had planned to phase in these uniforms by rank as they became possible.
“This is made possible way too soon by the Shannon Stone Memorial Fund. Those who knew Shannon knew how much the fire traditions meant to him. He couldn’t wait to have a Class A uniform to show his dedication to service,” said Chief Albright. “We will wear these uniforms not only to recognize and show respect to the event or occasion that we are at, but to memorialize Shannon each time we wear them. I want to thank the Shannon Stone Memorial fund for the gracious donation to provide these uniforms to each member of our staff.”
Pictured above (left to right) are: Greg Woodcox, Robert Myers, Bryan Harvey, Chaplain David Barnum and Chief Del Albright.
