Mason Allen sent the local fire house invitations to his birthday celebration because he remembered they once said they would always be his friends.
Most kids remember hosting a firefighter-themed birthday party, but little Mason got the real deal when a group of firefighters showed up at his 11th birthday party to celebrate the occasion.
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Mason Allen, a fifth grader from Spokane, Washington, doesn’t have many friends, his mom Danielle Thomas told InsideEdition.com.
He has autism spectrum disorder, and does not communicate or socialize the same way most kids his age do, his mom explained. To make matters worse, Mason spent most of last year out of town receiving mental health treatment.
“It was important for me to make this birthday great,” Thomas said.
When she asked who Mason wanted to invite to his upcoming birthday party, he purchased a set of invitations, wrote out the details to his birthday dinner, and asked his mom to take him to the Spokane Valley Fire Department so he could hand them out.
“[He wanted to] invite his friends at the fire station, as he remembers once them telling him that they are always his friends,” the boy’s mom explained. “I don’t think the thought of them not coming crossed my mind, but them actually showing up did not go through my mind either.”
Sure enough, when the big day rolled around, two fire trucks pulled up to the Denny’s where Mason and his family were celebrating his birthday, and several firefighters spilled into the diner.
“[The firefighters] walked in and said, ‘We’re here for Mason,’” Thomas recalled. “At first, Mason was in shock – he was so nervous because these are his heroes. He couldn’t believe they were really there for him.”
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The firefighters sang the “Happy Birthday” song and after dinner, Mason and his cousins were invited to take a tour of the fire engine.
"He was over the moon," Thomas said. "He later told me, ‘I told you they were my friends.'"
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