TORRINGTON – The sound of screeching tires fills the cabin of the car before the sudden impact of another car colliding into it. 

Joey, a young child, looks around in confusion as he sees the crumpled car surrounding him, dust settling, the smoky smell of an airbag deployment and his parents reaching back and shouting, “Are you okay?”

Joey’s parents make their way out of the car through the door of the vehicle, opposite the impact, and begin unbuckling him from the rear seat. He exits the car with tear-filled eyes. For Joey, this collision is the worst thing to have happened to him; his ears are ringing, his heart is pounding, his head hurts, he feels like he can’t breathe, and he doesn’t know what to make of the situation. People are yelling, there is smoke coming from the car, lights and sirens are all around him. 

A few moments later, a firefighter approaches him and hands him a stuffed animal. Joey grabs the stuffed animal and pulls it in tightly. He doesn’t know what to feel, he just knows the soft fur of Tommy Moose against his face reminds him of the warmth of his parent’s love. 

While Joey and his story are fictional, the impact of Tommy Moose can be profound. 

The Women of the Moose Chapter 2009 and Torrington Moose Lodge 664 donated 12 Tommy Moose stuffed animals to the Torrington Volunteer Fire Department on Tuesday. These stuffed animals will be placed in the TVFD command, so they are readily available to be given out to children who have just experienced a traumatic event in their life, according to Torrington firefighters Rick Donbraska and Eleno Oliva. 

“We will put them in command so they will always be on scene,” Donbraska said. “Something comforting for the children. We want to thank (the Women of the Moose) and thank them for what they do.”

This isn’t the first time Tommy Moose has been called to service in Torrington. The Women of the Moose and Torrington Moose Lodge donated Tommy Moose stuffed animals in 2019 to the hospital laboratory at Community Hospital. The mission of Tommy Moose then was to provide comfort to children who were going into the hospital lab. 

Now, the mission of Tommy Moose is to provide comfort to children in stressful situations when the fire department has been called. 

“Tommy Moose is there to calm children in distress,” Carole Derr said. “Tommy is a like an ultra-nice guy who is there to help children at a fire, car accident or emergency room visit. He is a comforting tool who is the heart of what the Moose is about.”

Derr and her friends at the Moose Lodge are driven to make an impact through the “heart of the Moose;” helping children, especially those in need of support in the darkest of days. Through the Tommy Moose program, they share their love and comfort in the most traumatic times for children. 

As a way of thanking the firefighters for their service, the Moose Lodge and Women of the Moose provided the attending firefighters with a chili supper after presenting them with the Tommy Moose stuffed animals. 

Looking ahead, the Moose Lodge and Women of the Moose are looking to expand their Tommy Moose donations to include other local emergency response organizations and provide children exposed to traumatic situations with a close friend when they need one the most.

While no child wants to find themselves in a situation to meet Tommy Moose, Tommy Moose will be there in those times to bring light to a dark day.