The Littlest Firefighter

The 26-year-old mother stared down at her son who was dying of terminal
leukemia.  Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a 
strong feeling of determination.  Like any parent she wanted her son to
grow up and fulfill all his dreams.  Now that was no longer possible.
The leukemia would see to that.  But she still wanted her sons dreams to
come true.  She took her son's hand and asked, "Billy, did you ever think
about what you wanted to be once you grew up?  Did you ever dream and wish
what you would do with your life?"

"Mommy, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up." Mom smiled back and 
said, "Let's see if we can make your wish come true."

Later that day she went to the local fire department in Phoenix, Arizona,
where she met Fireman Bob Klein, a former Jaycee Chapter President, who
had a heart as big as Phoenix.  She explained her son's final wish and 
asked if it might be possible to give her six-year-old son a ride around
the block on a fire engine.

Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do better than that.  If you'll have your
son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary
fireman for the whole day.  He can come down to the Fire Station, ear with
us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards!  And if you'll
give us his sizes, we'll get a real uniform for him, with a real fire hat
- not a toy one - with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a
yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots.  They're all manufactured
right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast."

Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his fire 
uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and 
ladder truck.  Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it
back to the fire station.  He was in Heaven.  There were three fire calls
in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls.  He rode
in the different fire engines, the paramedic's van and even the fire chief's
car.  He was also video taped for the local news program.

Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished
upon him, so deeply touched Billy that he lived three months longer that any
doctor thought possible.

One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head
nurse, who believed in the hospice concept that no one should die alone,
began to call the family members to the hospital.  She also remembered the
day that Billy had spent as a fireman, so she called the fire chief and 
asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital
to be with Billy as he made his transition.

The chief replied, "We can do better than that.  We'll be there in five 
minutes.  Will you please do me a favor?  When you hear the sirens screaming
and the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is
not a fire!  It' just the fire department coming to see one of its finest
members one more time.  And will you open the window to his room?  Thanks."


About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital,
extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor open window and 16 firefighters
climbed up the ladder into Billy's room.  With his mothers permission, they
hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him.

With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said, "Chief, am 
I really a fireman now?"

"Billy, you are, and the Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your hand," the chief
said. With those words Billy smiled and said, "I know He's been holding my
hand all day, and the angels have been singing."  He closed his eyes one last
time while the fireman all stood around the bed with hands to their foreheads
in a silent salute and tears on their cheeks.

Photos By:  Bob Walp

Quotes:

"What you read abou Billy, The littlest FF, is a true story.  While it's a 
great humanitarian story, it's unfortunately a sad ending in that we lost
Billy.  But yes, this is factual.  My department has 3 basic rules that we
enforce... survive, prevent harm, be nice.  By empowering my firefighters to
do the right thing all the time, this is only one example, albeit a large one,
of the customer service they deliver along with the fire service delivery."






Alan V. Brunacini
Fire Chief
Phoenix Fire Department
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This story is in fact the truth.  The event is nearly twenty years old, but
certianly no less powerful.  Our own Firefighter Bob (A main player in the 
events) is still on the job, functioning as a pumper/driver.  Customer Service
is a way of life on the job here in Phoenix.  I expect, that if faced with a 
similar event today, our people would respond in exactly the same fashion."






Chris Ketterer
Captain
Phoenix Fire Department.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------