As I perform my duty Lord,
Whatever be the call.
Help to guide and keep me safe,
From dangers big and small.
I want to serve and do my best,
No matter what the scene.
I pledge to keep my skills refined,
My judgement quick and keen.
This calling to give of myself,
Most do not understand.
But I stand ready all the time,
To help my fellow man.
To have a chance to help a child,
Restore his laugh with glee.
A word of thanks I might not hear,
But knowing is enough for me.
The praise of men is fine for some,
But I feel truly blessed,
That you, Oh Lord, have chosen me,
To serve in EMS.

author unknown

A Little 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 son's 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 her
local fire department in Phoenix, Arizona, where she
met Fireman Bob, 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, eat 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 fire 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 than 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. Then she
remembered the day 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 see the lights flashing, will you announce
over the PA system that there is not a fire? It's just the
fire department coming to see one of it's 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 mother's 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," the chief said. With those words,
Billy smiled and closed his eyes one last time.