10-year-old gets birthday surprise while sheltering at home

A 10-year-old boy who was missing out on birthday festivities due to the COVID-19 crisis got his spirits boosted Tuesday when the San Francisco Fire Department paid a special visit to his home, CBS San Francisco reports.

Tim Healy and his wife Robin Lim-Healy had already been forced to cancel a planned trip to Southern California for their son Kieran’s 10th birthday to visit Legoland in Carlsbad. They were hoping to do something unique to make his birthday memorable. Social distancing and the current stay-at-home order meant that there was no way to safely host a birthday party with his friends.

It was Robin who came up with the idea of asking her friend Carla Beyer, who works as a paramedic for the San Francisco Fire Department, to see if something might be arranged.

Tuesday afternoon, a paramedic unit from the Bay View and two fire trucks from SFFD Station 15 paraded up their street and stopped in front of their house. Healy posted a live video of the visit on his Facebook page.

Kieran Healy celebrating his 10th birthday. Healy Family

“This is no emergency. This is all about having a good time,” Tim can be heard saying early in the clip. “The neighbors must be freaking out. They have no idea what’s going on.”

The fire department ladder truck extended its ladder to its full height of 110 feet — about seven stories — to show Keiran what it could do. The firefighters also delivered a bag full of presents to the birthday boy.

“I think you changed his career aspirations,” Tim told the firefighters who gathered at a safe distance away on the sidewalk to wish Kieran a happy birthday. “He’s like, ‘Now I think I know what I want to do.'”

When talking about the visit later via Facebook messenger, Healy noted that the San Francisco Police Department also sent units over to mark Kieran’s birthday and drop off presents.

“We started out this morning with a virtual Zoom birthday party with some of his classmates calling in,” Tim said. “It will be a great way to look back and remember his birthday. It’s actually a bit more special than a regular birthday.”