24 | OCTOBER 17 • 2019
Jews in the D
I
n November of 2016, Rachel and
Steve Robinson purchased a home
for their family in Birmingham
that needed to be demolished. But
before they tore down their house, their
twin sons, Jacob and Jonah, decided it
was time to call the Birmingham Fire
Department.
With their mother’
s encouragement,
the boys contacted the fire department
to see if they needed homes to practice
their skills, and the fire department
immediately seized this opportunity.
For three days, firefighters used the
Robinson’
s home to portray real-life
scenarios by using artificial smoke and
mannequins posing as victims, which
enabled them to constitute game plans
for an actual fire.
Jacob and Jonah were invited to
enter their house with the firefighters
while it was filled with artificial smoke
to learn more about fire safety, allow-
ing them to witness firsthand what
firefighters do daily.
“It was such a cool and fun expe-
rience to share with my family,
”
Jacob said. “We got to see them
break in windows, fill the house
with smoke, their gear and the
firetrucks.
”
Although this was a great
experience for both the Robinson
family and the firefighters, the
fire department informed the
boys that most of their rookies
only learn in their training tower
and not in actual houses.
“The training tower is great, but
you can only do so many scenarios,
”
Birmingham Fire Department Chief Paul
Wells said. “It’
s always good to have a
fresh, new building — especially a resi-
dential building — where we don’
t know
the layout.
”
After their new home was finished,
the now 16-year-old twins decided to
immerse themselves in this cause and
advocate the need for houses to aid the
firefighters in training techniques.
“We felt that it was such a fun experi-
ence that benefited our local fire depart-
ment, we wanted more people to know
about this opportunity,
” Jacob said.
Jacob and Jonah worked alongside one
of the Birmingham Fire Department’
s
captains, Tom Hughes, who has been
instrumental in implementing the pro-
gram.
The boys also designed flyers detailing
what the firefighters would be practic-
ing in each house and how people can
donate their home.
Along with aiding their local fire-
fighters, the twins are active in the Jewish
community. They belong to Temple
Israel and have been volunteering at Yad
Ezra since they were old enough to walk.
“
A big part of Judaism is the sense of
community,
” Jacob said. “We are always
connected, and this is our community. I
feel like connecting people with the fire
department and allowing others to see
what they do allows us to bond more as a
community and ultimately creates a more
effective environment.
”
Since the boys started handing out
flyers to local businesses and architects,
the fire department has now been able to
practice in a second home.
“It’
s great to see two young boys have
this idea,
” Wells said. “I’
m looking for-
ward to seeing more homes come in to
help us out.
”
Jacob and Jonah aim to grow their
campaign and hope people in their com-
munity will think twice before demolish-
ing their home.
“It’
s nice to know we’
re helping the
people who help us,” Jonah said. “It’
s a
great cause and I’
m glad to be a part of
it.”
A Gift for
Firefighters
Brothers spread the word on helping
provide homes for fi
re-fi
ghting training.
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firefighters do daily.
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ence
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COURTESY OF THE ROBINSONS
The boys created a flyer
to help spread the word.
TOP: Jonah and Jacob Robinson and Fire Chief Paul
Wells. BOTTOM: The Birmingham Fire Department
got to train on the Robinsons’
soon-to-be-demolished
Birmingham home in 2016.