Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Caitlin Julius awarded Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant and representatives from the Springfield Fire Department (SFD) with the winning trophy for the second time in a row for this past January’s Battle of the Badges Blood Drive. The presentation took place Wednesday, March 8th at 2:15 p.m. at Springfield Fire Headquarters, 605 Worthington Street.
SFD faced off against the Springfield Police Department on January 5that City Hall for a blood drive in conjunction with the American Red Cross to raise awareness for the importance of blood donation, and to support all of the City’s public safety officials. Upon sign-in, donors had the choice to vote for either the Police or Fire Department. The Fire Department claimed the trophy with a neck-and-neck vote of 17-16. In total, 24 pints of whole blood and 6 units of power red cells were collected for a total of 30 units of blood.
Mayor Sarno kicked off the event with his own blood donation, and encouraged City of Springfield employees to also contribute. He said, “I would like to thank all those who continue to donate blood and raise awareness to bring out new blood donors in support of all our public safety officials. Be part of the team that helps save lives on and off the job. Please remember, hospital patients still depend on volunteer donors to receive life-saving transfusions.”
“I am proud to receive the Battle of the Badges trophy on behalf of the Springfield Fire Department for the second year in a row, and thank all the members, family and friends who participated in the blood drive,” said Commissioner Conant, who also gave a donation during the blood drive. He continued, “Community service is a core mission of the fire service and there is no greater partner than the Red Cross in helping us provide those services when there is a disaster or emergency in the City of Springfield. Anytime we can help the Red Cross by giving blood or attending events, the department and I are honored to do so.”
