City firefighters can ditch their button-down uniform shirts on Fridays and wear shirts that honor troops serving overseas.
TRENTON -- Even Trenton firefighters get casual dress Fridays.
When they're not actually fighting fires, city firefighters usually wear blue t-shirts under their uniform shirt.
Now, they can ditch their button-down uniform shirts on Fridays and wear just the blue t-shirt - ones that honor troops serving with ongoing military operations.
The program, T-Shirts for Troops, is not new. Firefighters across the state have been participating in it for years, often through the state Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association.
For every blue t-shirt a firefighter sells, two tan-colored versions of the shirt are sent to service members abroad, who can then wear them under their uniform, city Firefighter Paul Palombi said.
Or, they can hang up the shirt in their living quarters as a reminder of friends and family back home, as some reportedly do, Palombi said.
Units are usually chosen based on someone that a firefighter knows or is related to.
The t-shirts Trenton firefighters are wearing support the 76th Air Refueling Squadron, a unit of the 514th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurt.
Retired Trenton Fire Capt. James Lester's son Shane Lester serves in the unit and just returned Wednesday from a deployment. So far, the fire department has committed to shipping 120 shirts to the unit.
Supporting the t-shirt program was easy, said Trenton Deputy Chief Bob Tharp, but after visiting Boston and seeing firefighters there wearing similar shirts on Fridays, he decided to relax Trenton's uniform policy as well.
"And we're honoring the people serving the country too," Tharp said.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.