In January 2011, Herb Bradshaw began a new job.

By Penelope Soldan
Oklahoma Firefighter Editor

     On April 5, 1983, five Edmond firefighters dressed up like clowns and put on a show for children at the Edmond Community Center. They wanted to educate youngsters on fire safety.
     But that’s not all they did that day. After the show, they piled into a van and visited patients at the Baptist Burn Center. Then it was on to Children’s Hospital to see burn victims there.
     “It was a long day,” said Mike “Rookie” Billingsley. “But I wanted to give of my time.”
     That’s how the Firefighter’s Clown Society started. The five guys wanting to give of their time were Mike “Happy” Billingsley, Lloyd “Bubbles” Fitzgerald, Gary “Shorty” Dill, Bob “Bobo” Billen and David “Baby” Billen.
     And since they wanted to spend lots of time with young burn victims, slapping on face paint and funny outfits seemed like the best thing to do.
   “I realized that if I walked into the room and had a look of shock, that would scare them,” said Billingsley, who was the originator of the idea. “I thought if I was a clown, they wouldn’t see the fear in my eyes.
     “It was also good therapy for me, and I felt like I was
doing something positive.”
     Something extremely positive did come out of this group’s actions. More clown groups popped up across the state.
     Oklahoma City firefighter Jeff Steele heard about it and helped start a group with Midwest City firefighters Mark Zeckzer, Jody Williams and Shane Campbell.
     Several more groups were formed after the founding five members held a couple of Clown Society workshops.
     Alva, Blackwell, Collinsville, Del City, Duncan, Frederick, Guthrie, Kingfisher, Laverne, McAlester, Mustang, Owasso, Ponca City, Tinker Field, Tulsa, Watonga and Woodward all formed “alleys.”
   “It started spreading like wildfire,” Billingsley said.

      ***

Excerpt from January 1985 Oklahoma Firefighter:
    
     “One member described his involvement with the Clown Society as one of the most rewarding experiences since becoming associated with the fire service.
     As the Clown Society becomes better known, the requests for personal appearances grow, which is why new faces are being recruited by the following members: Bob Billen, David Billen, Mike Billingsley, Duane Chelenza, David Cragie, Lance Crenshaw, Gary Dill, Lloyd Fitzgerald, Larry Gambill, Pete Girillo, Larry Hill, Jim Lofgren, Alvin MClung, Dick Miller, Timothy Rexford, Robert Rucker, Paul Shipman, Jeff Steele, Brian Taylor and George Zdesar.”

      ***

Tulsa firefighter Curtis Ozment attended one of the Clown Society workshops in 1985. Soon after, he started a group with B.C. Dow, Yogi Cole and Guy Rutherford. 
     “I wouldn’t say we were the founding ones in Tulsa, but we more or less took it from there after that presentation,” said Ozment, who wore stilts and went by the name “Flash.”
     “And that first year, we visited 35,000 children at schools and the Children’s Medical Center. It was rewarding teaching these kids fire safety that may save their lives.
     “It took a lot of time, but it was worth every minute.”

      ***

     In 1987, the Firefighter’s Clown Society started its “Clown-4-a-Day” fundraisers. Members would go to local businesses and put clown noses on people, who would then have to raise $100 in pledges to remove the red nose.
     That first year, the fundraiser brought in about $10,000 from its Oklahoma City campaign and around $5,000 from Tulsa. More were held in 1988, and money raised helped fund burn apartments in Oklahoma City and Tulsa and workshops around the state.
     Although the “Clown-4-a-Day” campaign hasn’t been held for years, others are doing their part to keep the clown apartments open for families of burn victims to use free of charge.
     The Lawton Fire Department voted to raise dues to their local by 50 cents per payday (they just recently doubled that to a dollar per payday) to help pay rent on the apartment. The Stillwater Fire Department is doing the same thing. And the Women’s Auxiliary and the ORFA make annual donations to the cause, as well.
     In 2009, departments and locals contributing funds for the burn apartments included Nichols Hills, The Village, Mustang, Oklahoma City FF Ladies Auxiliary, OSFA Ladies Auxiliary, Yukon, Bethany, Woodward Volunteer FF Association, Midwest City and Fairview.

      ***

  Woodward firefighter Doug Walker started out as a rodeo clown. But when he got hired on full time at the fire department in 1992, he joined the Clown Society and became “Dozer.”
     In 2002, Walker and fellow Woodward clowns J.P. “Hoser” Shirkey and David “Cinder” Conner represented Oklahoma’s organization at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Maryland.
     But taking part in the Oklahoma Firefighter Burn Camps rank among Walker’s most memorable experiences.
     “It’s good to mingle with the kids and listen to their stories, although it hits hard sometimes,” he said. “We’ve even heard comments that some kids didn’t want to go to camp. But their parents called to tell us that they have opened up a bunch since they’ve been to camp.”

      ***

      In 1988, thanks to OSFA President Jim Smith, the theme for the 94th Annual Oklahoma State Firefighters Convention was “Salute to the Clowns.” 
     One highlight was a visit from Lanny Heston, a volunteer firefighter from Morris who was electrocuted on his other job. Because of Heston, the first burn apartment was acquired.      
     Also memorable was the hail storm that interrupted the clown carnival. But after everyone inspected their cars (several lost windshields), the games began again. The dunk tank -- with chiefs, directors and executive board members sitting above the cold water -- was extremely popular.

      ***

     Edmond firefighter Lloyd Fitzgerald was among the five members who helped start the Firefighter’s Clown Society. And the first youngster he had to win over was his son.
     “My son was a couple years old when we started, and the first time he saw me in my clown face, he was scared to death,” Fitzgerald said.
     “So I sat him on the counter as I put on my clown face, talking with him the whole time. That’s how he became accustomed to it.”
     Brightening up everybody’s day at the burn center was the reason these guys took off their fire helmets and put on face paint during their free time. But Fitzgerald believes he and his fellow clowns were the ones who benefited from the experience.
     “We just wanted to bring a few laughs to the patients and nurses, because there is a lot of pain and suffering that goes on down there,” Fitzgerald said. “ But it was much more of a reward for us to be able to do that, however brief it was.
     “We came away much more enriched.”

      ***

     There are still active clowns throughout the state (including Shawnee and Woodward) that teach fire safety during Fire Prevention Month in October.
     But the Clown Society’s main role these days is raising funds to pay for the burn apartments in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as the annual burn camp.
     For more information on the Firefighter’s Clown Society, contact Billingsley at (405) 203-6090.

      ***

Excerpt from May 1991 Oklahoma Firefighter:

     “The strength of an organization is sometimes determined in the growth. Just eight short years ago, there were five friends then six, then seven, then 14, then 25, then 52, then 75, then 200, then 400, then 600.
     These numbers are only the friends from the fire service. This doesn’t include the friends we have made at the burn centers or the friends we have made by helping the families of burn victims or the friends at the schools (teachers and kids) by teaching fire safety.
     The numbers continue to grow, and what a blessing it is to make new friends at this rate. Numbers are just numbers. Friends are here forever.”
                                                             --Mike “Rookie” Billingsley