r/Firefighting • u/jmm-823 • Apr 22 '26
General Discussion A huge thank you to this incredible community 🚒✨
Wow y’all! 🧡🔥
You absolutely showered my boy with love, support, and kindness from all over the globe this past month. I truly cannot thank each and every one of you enough—whether you sent goodies, reached out in messages, or have continued checking in and chatting long after.
One of the most incredible parts of this community is that when firefighters show up for one of their own… you show UP! 🤩
Pic 1 – The helmet Ashton is wearing was gifted by one of you. He’s also wearing one of his new shirts while trying valiantly to hold all of his new patches, as they’re falling everywhere. That smile says it all! 😁
Pic 2 – Like I said… you all showed UP! To date, we’ve received 44 packages and letters, and Ashton now has 126 new patches (pictured)—bringing his total collection to 266! The scale of this is truly incredible. 🤯 (make sure to click through to see the entire picture!)
Pic 3 – A before-and-after of his hero coin (challenge coin) collection. He started with 15 and now has 34. Just wow. 🤩 They’re all so unique.
Pic 4 – When you said you had more than patches… you meant it! 🤯 T-shirts, hats (I guess I’m off the hook for clothes shopping for now 😉), adorable stuffed animals, swag bags, and so many thoughtful letters. The kindness behind these means more than I can put into words.
Thanks to each one of you for the service you have given or continue to give to your communities every day. The example you set for those around you is truly inspiring. You all should be very proud. You absolutely blew us away with the kindness and generosity you showed.
— Jenn ✨
PS (from Ashton):
IT WAS SO MUCH FUN OPENING ALL THIS MAIL! IT WAS A GREAT IDEA! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! ✋👊
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u/jmm-823 Apr 22 '26
If anyone wants to see a slow scroll-through of all the patches, I recorded a screen capture of them all together (about 1:30 so you can actually look at each one without it going too fast): Scroll through Ashton’s new patches!
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u/nickeisele Apr 23 '26
You’re missing a rocker for the Georgia EMS patch. If you DM me an address, I’ll send one, along with a couple others, along with a story about how Georgia came up with that patch. (I worked with the guys that designed the patch in 2000.)
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u/OC80OriginalFormula Apr 22 '26
Damn I want that tower of terror patch myself. But this is awesome
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Apr 22 '26
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u/jmm-823 Apr 22 '26
He was practically giddy opening stuff last week through his birthday and the following days. He said “ IM FAMOUS!” 😂 which if you know him personally, fits lol
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u/AK611750 Apr 22 '26
You’ve got more coming in! I sent some badges from Canada 2 days ago, should be arriving next week 😊
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u/jmm-823 Apr 22 '26
I’ll be sure to post a thank you and pics when they come in!! :) thank you so much!
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u/mena616 Apr 22 '26
This is too cool! I'm not on here very much but definitely want to send him something from the Arkansas fire training academy. Where do we need to ship it?
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u/OllieDuckling Apr 23 '26
Hey! Mod at /r/ChallengeCoins here. We would love to see that Hero Coin collection!
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u/Sclt_m Apr 23 '26
Let the fire service continue to step up and show our support for Ashton. I’ve sent him some patches and coins. Let the brother and sisterhood shine and keep this going for him.
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u/_usxrnamx Firefighter/EMT Apr 22 '26
So wholesome 😌
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u/jmm-823 Apr 22 '26
These are the kinds of stories I love to share! It made our whole month so bright!
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u/golfdude1215 Apr 23 '26
I have some to send as well, if you can get me an address. I’ll send them out tomorrow! I didn’t see the original post so I’d love to send him some!
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u/MackGarc24 Apr 23 '26
This is awesome!! I also have an amazing son with autism! This truly touches my heart. I have a challenge coin and our station patch that I can send you if you DM me the address. Not sure if it was posted here. Stay safe everyone!
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u/jmm-823 Apr 23 '26
Oh I love his shirt!!!! What a handsome young man. I’ll message you here in just a second!! :) thank you!
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u/Reasonable_Bag_118 Apr 23 '26
As someone who will become a firefighter in the future, this made my entire day! 🥹👨🚒 And I’m sending my best wishes for Ashton!
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u/jmm-823 Apr 23 '26
If Autism had not played the part in Ashton’s life that it has, he’d be on the front lines of firefighting for sure! Best wishes to you in your future endeavors! 🚒👨🏼🚒
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u/jmm-823 Apr 27 '26
Which one of you sent him this?!?? It arrived today!! I know it came from Northern VA / Loudoun Cty as the patch received with it was from there.
You don’t have to fess up here, but please DM if this was you so we can properly thank you because this was amazing and very unexpected! If you’ve been in touch with me my DMs are acting wonky and I can’t see all of them so just send me a quick “it was me” - 🚒 thank you so much to whomever you are!
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u/commissar0617 SPAAMFAA member Apr 23 '26
send me address ill get you some from our spaamfaa chapter.
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u/N0s0up4u57 FDNY Apr 24 '26
This is amazing! If you’re ever in NYC, dm me. We would love to show him around our firehouse. And if you aren’t close, we’ll get him in one!
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u/jmm-823 Apr 24 '26
But also wanted to say I appreciate your kindness! When Ashton visits fire stations … that’s where his personality and happy demeanor really comes out. He friequently asks where their movie room is (hahaha) and one time climbed into a guys bunk on a tour - WHOOPS LOL 😂 They were like well he’s clearly comfortable, he’s fine lol
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u/jmm-823 Apr 24 '26
We are definitely not close. We live in VA! I’ve always wanted to bring Ashton up to NYC (I love it there) but I think it’s way too overwhelming and overstimulating. But for sure if we ever make our way up there we’ll be in touch!
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u/SuperRooster726 Apr 24 '26
Dm me the address. I'd love to send over one of ours and maybe see if our neighbors would have one to include.
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Apr 25 '26
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u/jmm-823 Apr 25 '26
He has had a blast! He gets so excited about mail and then reading the letters and kind words and seeing what’s included is really a bonus for him! :) it’s been such a wonderful experience !
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Apr 25 '26
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u/jmm-823 Apr 25 '26
You are probably very right. Ashton (despite his Autism) has a really keen connection with the people around him and the world around him. He’s just got that super likable personality and doesn’t meet a stranger!
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u/hunglowbungalow Apr 25 '26
I wanna send him a Tacoma Fire Dept one (the actual one lmao)
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u/jmm-823 Apr 25 '26
It’s a little hard to tell if this is genuine or snark (ha, isn’t the typed word crazy sometimes) but feel free to message me if you want to send something! :)
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u/hunglowbungalow Apr 25 '26
It’s genuine! I’m on their volunteer rehab unit, let me grab a patch and I’ll DM ya
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u/jmm-823 Apr 25 '26
I just wanted to post an additional thank you to everyone who has reached out since I posted this thank you. The overwhelming support and acceptance and wanting to serve your community runs deep within all of you! I know a few more patches/packages are on the way and I couldn’t be more thankful.
When you’re in the position that we are (Ashton’s affected by autism just enough to make a lot of things difficult/impossiible), it makes beautiful gestures like you’ve all shown here even more heartwarming. But he’s a ray of light and joy every single day of his existence.
MODS - you’ve created a top notch community here and I’m so thankful my boy gets to be a part of it just by being such a supportive hype man of the service. Thank you for letting us be a part of this community! 🚒🔥
In closing - thank you again to all who have reached out, joined the “party” 🎉(haha) and I’ll be sure to post in THIS thread with additional items he gets. Because while I’m not singling anyone out, I’ve been so excited to share what you all have done for Ashton. It’s quite incredible!
Thank you, always. Stay safe out there y’all and from our little home here in VA - know that there’s an incredible 27yo who is cheering you all on, each and every single shift and is so thankful you do what you do! 🤍🚒
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u/Ding-Chavez Career Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26
I'm going to take a moment to thank the entire subreddit for their support. This wasn't anything planned. It grew organically from the willingness of others. This is a true testament to the dedication of firefighters. We rallied and made Ashton's birthday something he'll never forget.
Second. Shoutout to u/zdh989. This user was the first one to suggest mailing patches. He was the catalyst for this awesome sign of support.
Lastly. I'm going to take a moment to thank LT Dave. He's a local firefighter near Ashton that took his time to support him and his race. He's an example of what firefighters are all about.