Jeffery “J.J”. Harris Jr. wanted to become a fireman and on Tuesday he got his wish. The Goucher-White Plains Fire Department made Harris an honorary lifetime member and assigned him the call number 1899, a number they said will never be assigned to anyone else. In photo, Fire Chief Jimmy Lamb presents Harris with a helmet and welcomes him into the brotherhood. The idea started with a simple request.

Jeffery “J.J.” Harris Jr. is a big fan of firefighters and Goucher-White Plains Fire Chief Jimmy Lamb said he was asked if J.J. could come down to the fire station to hang with the guys.

Lamb, however, had no intentions of simply letting J.J. just hang out, saying, “We can do a whole lot better than that.”

Lamb decided to put Harris to work.

On Tuesday evening, the Goucher- White Plains Fire Department made Harris an honorary lifetime member of Station 8, presenting him with a certificate of membership, an officer‘ s helmet, a fire coat and a Station 8 uniform including a ball cap, T-shirt, polo shirt and jacket.

(Left) J.J. Harris shows off the Goucher-White Plains Fire Department stickers that were attached to the back of his wheelchair following his induction as an honorary lifetime member. And since every member has to know how to operate the fire equipment, Harris was then taken out for a check-ride in a fire truck, during which he got to operate the fire truck’s horn, lights and siren.

“It was good,” Harris said after his check-ride.

The smiles that come so easily seemed even bigger.

Though Harris, 24, who has contended with cerebral palsy since birth, may not be up to the physical demands of helping his new brothers and sisters at fire scenes, Lamb gave him an equally important job.

(Right) Members of the Goucher-White Plains Fire Department pose with J.J., their new brother. “Your job on each call we have, I want you to say a prayer for us,” Lamb said. “I may be able to direct all the people with the hoses, but without somebody talking to the Lord for us there’s no guarantee we get to go home safe.”

Every firefighter who works for, or volunteers with, a fire department is assigned a call number and Harris was no exception.

Goucher-White Plains assigned Harris the call number 1899.

“That’s a special number,” Lamb told Harris. “Nobody has ever been assigned that number before and nobody will get it again.”

Ann Harris said her son listens to the emergency scanner and takes an active interest in the emergency services. He currently has a cousin on the Goucher-White Plains Fire Department and other family members have served previously.

According to his mom, “He said, ‘I’m going to join the fire department one day.’ I said, ‘When the time comes, you’ll get your wish.’”

Ann Harris said she had been trying to keep Tuesday night’s event a secret.

“He didn’t know he was going to get to ride in a fire truck,” she said. “He’s thrilled.“

Besides his interest in firefighting, Harris, who attends Silver Springs Church, also likes going to church.

Every member of the fire department turned out for the special induction ceremony and all welcomed J.J. into the brotherhood. The smiles that came so easily to J.J. more than rubbed off.

Lamb recalled how he got interested in the fire service when he was in sixth grade, ironically because his family’s home had been struck by fire. While Lamb and his brother lost a lot, the loss that stuck out most was their baseball cards.

“The firefighters chipped in to replace those cards,” he said. “People bought us clothes and other things you need, but I think the most thoughtful thing was those baseball cards.”

It’s a memory that sticks with him to this day.

“If we can do something to make somebody else that happy, that’s what we’re going to do,” he said.