Firefighter Uses Sign Language To Communicate With Delighted Boy
Sign language and kindness come naturally to firefighter Mike Rheault
American Sign Language proved to be the perfect tool for firefighter Mike Rheault.
He’s a lieutenant in the Manchester, New Hampshire fire department. He was one of several firefighters responding to alarms going off at an apartment building earlier this month.
That’s when Lt. Rheault spied a shy boy peaking out of a doorway.
That boy was Teegan McCall. His mother explains that her son has cerebral palsy and is non-verbal. Lt. Rheault picked up on that right away and started conversing with the boy.
Mom recorded the interaction she says she will never forget.
The @ManchesterFD responded to our building tonight when 3 floors of alarms were going off. Firefighter Mike noticed Tegan not speaking and asked if he knew sign language right before I recorded this. Thank you Fireman Mike and Manch FD ❤️ @mhtinformation pic.twitter.com/aAv9wM3cno
— Amy McCall (@amyjomccall) February 1, 2019
WMUR reports that “Firefighter Mike” not only knows sign language. It was his first language growing up because both of his parents were deaf.
“I’ve used it on probably eight to 10 calls in my career, and it’s been helpful,” he said.
The friendship continues. The fire department made sure that Teegan now has his own fire fighter helmet.
Tegan is really enjoying his new Fire Chief hat from the @ManchesterFD and Lieutenant Mike Rheault ☺️ pic.twitter.com/R8whNpOz3b
— Amy McCall (@amyjomccall) February 1, 2019
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