For those who are not yet fortunate enough to know the rush of being a first responder, let me give you a short glimpse of it.
It’s two in the morning, tones* drop. The piercing scream of high pitched wails rip through your sleepy paradise and alert you that someone needs your help. While still half asleep you dress yourself and gear up as you hear the call come through on the radio, “Station 53, EMS 17, Station 50 for a working dwelling fire*…” Those last three words seal the deal. It’s go time. You and your crew jump into the fire engine and pull out into the night. Lights flash in the darkness and the howling sirens shatter the stillness that once was all around. After a long nights work the fire is finally out and you and your crew are back home at the station, exhausted. Good thing your shift only has another eight more hours left to go! Now if only you had some better coffee to drink than stale “donut shop” k-cups.
With stakes as high as life and death and work hours up to and exceeding 24 hour shifts firefighters, police officers, and EMT/Paramedics all need a coffee that works as hard as they do. That’s where Luke Schneider comes in with Fire Department Coffee.
Luke is a firefighter and paramedic for the city of Rockford and also a former Navy serviceman. He and his fellow firefighters set out less than two years ago to make a coffee suitable for the early mornings and late nights of a first responder. Luke and his team are, no doubt, very familiar with the anecdote I began this post with and they did something about it. Their coffee is roasted to order and shipped all over the country from fire houses to people’s houses. However, Fire Department Coffee doesn’t just make great coffee, they give back in a big way.
Fire Department Coffee has this to say on their website about their charitable efforts toward first responders and vets alike, “A portion of every order goes towards supporting firefighter and military charities.” As well as Schneider saying that Fire Department Coffee was, “built around the concept of giving back.”
Fire Department Coffee’s unique position of being a “works as hard as you work” coffee that tastes great and gives back has blown away the competition. Even in the short amount of time that they have been roasting and distributing coffee, they have seen success across the nation. Schneider and his team have truly set a fire that no one can put out!
By Daniel Hagan, 2018
Links:
- https://www.firedeptcoffee.com/
Terms:
- *tones are the unique set of rings that alert a specific station or agency that their services are needed
- *a working dwelling fire is a house or other structure that is on fire.
