VIDEO: A much-needed refresh is in the works for the St. Louis Fire Department. And for the more than 600 city firefighters, the change couldn’t come sooner. “A huge ‘thank you.’ I can’t say thank you enough,” Firefighter Brandon Steffens said.
Steffens is talking about the brand-new chairs, desks and couches recently donated to the department. All 30 engine houses, plus the two locations at Lambert St. Louis International Airport, will get new furniture. The local nonprofit St. Louis Hero Network, an organization that supports first responders, raised more than $160,000 to make the donation possible. Kettle River Furniture also contributed, with more than $40,000 worth of brand-new furniture.
The Hero Network’s founder, Charlie Metzner, a firefighter of nearly two decades and the proud son of a St. Louis firefighter, said the new furniture will be a big boost for morale. “This is a stressful job. You’re getting woken up in the middle of the night; there are a lot of good times, but there are a lot of hard days,” Metzner said. “It feels good to leave a place better than you found it. And to wind up and do something for your department. That your dad was a part of, that I’ve been a part of for 19 years.”
Metzner’s fundraising campaign started with replacing all the mattresses at the engine houses. When that project was completed, he and his team moved to other items that were either worn or even broken.
At Engine House 28 at Enright and Delmar, firefighters like Steffens said the brand-new furniture is an incredible gift. “Getting it donated is amazing. We’re definitely not used to it. We live one-third of our life at the fire-house, so it’ll be nice to have some nice furniture,” he said.
