Plainfield Firefighters Show Up For Birthday Boy

PLAINFIELD, IL — It was a cold Saturday, and for just a moment, it seemed for Dominic Giatras that it would also be a lonely seventh birthday. His mother Elizabeth was sick, and only one of his classmates could make it to his party at GymQuest on Van Dyke Road. But then the Fire Department came to the rescue — not to save anyone from burning building, but to save the birthday boy from a boring day.

"No one showing up to a party for a 7-year-old kid? That's unheard of in this day and age," Plainfield Fire Chief Jon Stratton said. He added that within a few minutes of getting word of Dominic's predicament on Saturday, he had firefighters from Fire Stations One and Two on their way. Dominic's mother said in a Patch neighbor post that it was an unexpected — but incredibly welcome — surprise.

"They all made his day extremely special and forever memorable," she said. "Never in my dreams would I expect such a terrific party from out of the blue."

Stratton said that community engagement like this is a regular part of fire department culture.

"Anytime we can do community outreach, we try to," Stratton said. "We've done a lot of this kind of stuff."

It may be routine for Stratton, but for Dominic and Elizabeth, it was a day they'll likely never forget.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts," Elizabeth said.