News

 

Good morning. My name is Annie Lorenzano. My father’s name was John Lorenzano. He was killed on February 5^th, 1992, responding to a call of a fire at the Indianapolis Athletic Club. While I never truly knew him, I have the lifelike descriptions that so many people, above all my mother, recite to me daily. As I discussed the situation with my English teacher, Vicki Brooks, she said something that I had never heard before. “It is so great that you’re mother has kept you’re father alive for you,” she told me. As I thought about what Mrs. Brooks said, I realized that I could not have put it better myself. While in actuality my father is not alive, his spirit lives continuously through those who keep him living. My father was an amazing person, always considering others before himself. A loving husband, reliable brother, dedicated friend, grateful son, and amazing father were all various degrees of good character he represented. And just like all of you brave, selfless men and women standing proud in your uniforms today, he loved what he did. Saving lives was not just a job for my dad, it was a passion. I recently came across some old things of his, and in them I found his application to the Indianapolis Fire Department. When asked: Is there any information not mentioned in the previous sections that may reflect upon your suitability to perform the duties you may be called upon, he replied: “My desire to be of service to the public is a natural position for me.” In my eyes, his answer to that question is the epitome of what firefighter should embody: Wanting to make a difference in someone’s life, not for the glory of being considered a hero, but because you truly care about the well-being of someone that you have probably never met. And even while my father lost his life in doing so, I truly believe, deep in my heart, he wouldn’t regret one second of holding the title of an Indianapolis firefighter. Because what you men and women do, countless days and nights, not only saves lives; but keeps family, friends, and relationships from becoming broken, causes survivors to better appreciate the 2^nd chance you have given them, and gives everyone a modern-day super hero to look up to.

 

 

 

The courageous acts firefighters perform on a daily basis not only salvage the lives of those they rescue, but also those who could not live without them. The end of one’s life can also cause the end of many other’s belief, faith, and reasons for living. When you fearless men and women are called upon to save the single mother, you’re saving her daughter from not having a parent. As you rescue the high school football player, you’re rescuing his team from grieving the loss of one of their own. And while you fight the unbearable flames to retrieve that newlywed couple, you’re fighting to give them hope of one day starting their own family. You’re brave, self-sacrificing actions keep so many lives from falling to pieces. Because while you may not know it, as you save one life, you’re saving so much more.

 

As firefighters continue reviving limitless numbers of lives, they are also giving that person an inimitable opportunity; a second chance at living. Harrison Ford once said, “We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.” Saving lives for your career is considerably the noblest path any person can take. But what many don’t realize is that firefighters are not only saving some stranger’s life, but giving them the chance to start over; to adjust their outlook on life. Doing what you men and women do causes individuals to realize the importance of time, and the significance of living. You give those whose lives were nearly taken the ability to survive.  

 

With all of the countless fearless acts you firefighters perform, it is only natural to compare you to superman,  who is known as the hero that everyone looks up to and everyone wants to be. But, in reality, you are so much more than some imaginary character. Firefighters don’t have a secret identity or a spandex suit to hide themselves, your uniform tells the nation who you are and what you’re here for. Special affects aren’t necessary for you to slay the villain. You aren’t on the pages of a comic book, and writers don’t create dangerous scenarios for you so that you can save the world. Your bad guy is the excruciating heat, and you don’t have time to digitally enhance you taking down the flames. Someone didn’t create you from their imagination; you were born to do what you do. And when you get a call that someone is in trouble, it isn’t some made-up scenario. What you do is real, through and through. You are who men and women look up to, not some make-believe superhero. And when someone says they want to be a firefighter, it’s actually possible.

 

There are not enough words to even begin describing the appreciation that I have for what you men and women have done and continue to do. It is an amazing thing to be able to go into something not knowing if you will come out; to possibly end your own life to let someone live. Never lose pride in yourselves, and always be proud of what you do. In my opinion, there is no job of greater importance than one that changes peoples’ lives for the better. That is exactly what firefighters do, and it will never change. And while I cannot speak for my father, I can tell you this: Every time you’re on the job, fighting through that endless tunnel of smoke, rapid rise of temperature, and flames that reach the sky, he’s fighting right with you. Because no matter if you’re in heaven or on earth, the passion to be a firefighter never leaves you.