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Child in France builds special bond with Clearwater firefighters

A vacation to Florida would not have been complete without a stop at a fire station for one French family.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Jordan Pinol is never too far away from his fire hat. The French child, who leaves on the border near Geneva, Switzerland, has fond memories of a family trip to Florida in 2018.

“He loves everything about firefighters,” said his dad, Alex.

Jordan, now 6, begged his family to stop at the fire station while visiting Clearwater. The excited child wanted to see how big American fire trucks were compared to trucks back home.

The crew at Station 45 in Clearwater invited everyone inside, gave Jordan that prized plastic hat, and posed for photos. Jordan got to see the trucks up close and learn about American firefighting.

“Our crews really enjoy being able to have those interactions,” said Division Chief John Klinefelter, who has been a firefighter for 20 years. “Now there is an open line of correspondence going back and forth a little bit with the family.”

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Visiting once would have been good enough. But, the story hasn’t ended. Jordan’s parents took one of those photos from the station and had it made into a 500-piece puzzle for Christmas. After completing it, the child sent a photo of him with his finished puzzle back to Station 45.

The ongoing relationship makes the Florida first responders smile.

“It’s pretty exciting. We got a handwritten letter from Jordan that came with the picture. It was really, really neat,” said Klinefelter. “Who knows maybe we inspired him to go back home and serve his community over in France which would really be exciting to hear.”

Jordan isn’t sure about a potential career field yet. He wanted to be a firefighter at one point. Now, he’s interested in veterinary medicine. He’s years away from deciding. For now, his family is thankful for the firefighters on a different continent showing an interest in their son.

“We met some firefighters and they said, ‘Oh, come inside. We have a gift for him. He can see the trucks inside,'” said Alex. “The best part was to meet them and take this famous picture.”

The Pinol family hopes to return to America in the future.

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