Fire Department Makes Terminally Ill 9-Year-Old ‘Honorary Firefighter’

A terminally-ill nine-year-old girl who is battling cancer was named an honorary firefighter by her local fire department.

Wisconsin native Mackenzie Clyde was on the path to remission when her cancer returned.

“She completed surgery, radiation chemotherapy,” Mackenzie’s mother, Courtney, said. “After we ended treatment, we found out that her cancer had come back, and she had four new tumors in her brain.”

Although Mackenzie’s diagnosis is terminal, the city of West Allis, Wisconsin, is supporting her every step of the way— including the fire department, which made her honorary firefighter for the day.

The West Allis Fire Department allowed Mackenzie the opportunity to suit up, slide down the fire pole at the station, and ride in the bucket of a ladder truck.

The town’s mayor, Mayor Dan Devine, also dedicated the day in honor of Mackenzie for her strength and her work to raise awareness of childhood cancer.

Other first responders have named childhood cancer patients honorary members of their squad throughout the years. In February 2019, a girl with terminal cancer in Texas got the opportunity to become an honorary police officer for the day.

The girl said she wanted to become a police officer so she could “fight the bad guys in her body.”