When now, former fire chief Joe Harris WAS head chief of the Plantation fire Department. Our badges were taken back and we were all handed what looked like cop badges----yuck! I received my fire badge upon graduation in 2008. I loved the shape of it. The Maltese cross was beautifully plated in silver with the center seal as the logo of the city of Plantation. It was very nice until, for some unknown reason, we had to turn our badges back in and were given police-like badges. Why? I heard that rescue had badges like this and the fire department wanted us to look the same. I remember-----just about everyone, but me----placed their badges in their wallets. I swear, it's the truth. I never understood why. I taped a credit card to my shirt and when I was asked, "Hey, what do you have a credit card on your shirt for?" I said, "Why do you dorks wear badges in your wallets for?" The very next day, after receiving my fire badge at the association meeting, I went to Hollywood, Florida to check out some shirts at the 9-1-1 store. I ran into Elson Soto there. "Ghostwriter, what are you doing here?" I wasn't shocked to see him there. "I'm just checking out some shirts, Elson. The cop shop in Davie is closed." Elson left the store after a brief encounter with the store employee. I picked out some nice fire related shirts and brought them up to the counter. I pulled out my fire badge from my pocket and placed it on the counter to show the clerk and let him know how happy I was to have earned it. The store clerk said, "Let me guess, a wallet for your badge, like the other guy just asked for?" He told me they were out of badge wallets. I told him, "I'm not interested in a wallet for my badge, and that I'm just showing you my fire badge." He said, "Yeah, it's nice. I was just looking at his too."
Even the police wear badges in wallets...why?