Firefighters and other first responders deserve praise for risking their lives to save communities and property. Battling fire, gas, and smoke as a routine is a line of duty that requires devotion and unmeasured courage. This is why many people say that men may look equal, but others are cut of steel. Looking into the lives of the bold men and women, one may wonder how you can recognize and praise their role in the community. But have you thought about a custom challenge coin? The culture of challenge coins is already engraved in first responder communities, and it would be a great gesture to award a challenge coin to a firefighter.
Professional firefighters usually identify with their line of duty through particular traditions and symbols. The Maltese cross and St Florian are some of the widely known symbols of the community. Others include fire equipment, including a helmet, a pickaxe, a hose, and a fire engine. In principle, a firefighter coin should depict at least one or any other symbols relating to firefighting. However, this is not mandatory, and different fire departments across the states have gone beyond this bottleneck to come up with highly creative designs for their coins.
Firefighter and military challenge coins
All challenge coins trace their roots in the military. Back in the days, only affiliated military personnel possessed challenge coins. These were issued to recognize performance and achievement. Usually, the most memorable coins were issued during military college graduation (after completing training) or after an army unit came back from the battlefront. In the days, may retired military men and women found it better to serve in the local law enforcement departments while others joined the fire brigade. Through this transition, firefighter challenge coins were born and are still circulating in fire departments across the country.
Features of firefighter custom coins
While there are numerous designs for fire department challenge coins, there are basic features engraved on a larger percentage of fire challenge coins. Here are the most prominent of fire department symbols:
- The Maltese cross: This is a universal logo for firefighters around the world.
- The six spike star: A representation of the central tasks firefighters undertake in the line of duty. These are rapid response, care in transit to the hospital, reporting, transfer to definitive care, detection of danger, Provision of care at the scene.
- The fire helmet: Symbolic of all firefighters across the world.
- Saint Florian: The famous patron saint
- The fire chief coin: An honor to firefighters with exceptional leadership skills.
How do you get a firefighter challenge coin?
There are different ways for firefighters and private citizens to collect challenge coins. However, the only genuine way to collect official challenge coins issued by a fire department is to participate in their activities as a firefighter. Private citizens may also be recognized using challenge coins for showing support to your department. Outside the fire department, you can also buy various firefighter challenge coins from challenge coin minting companies. A custom firefighter challenge coin is probably the best gift you can get for a fire department worker.
