BuchananBuff

The Last Alarm


My father was a fireman, he drove a big red truck
and when he'd go to work each day
he'd say, "Mother, wish me luck".

Then dad would not come home again, until sometime the next day.
But the thing that bothered me the most was
the things some folks would say.
"A fireman's life is easy. He eats and sleeps and plays,
and sometimes he won't fight a fire for many, many days."

When I first heard these words,
I was too young to understand.
But I knew when people had trouble
dad was there to lend a hand.

When my father went to work one day
and kissed us all good-bye, little did we realize
that night we would all cry.

My father lost his life that night, when the floor gave way below.
I wondered why he'd risked his life for someone he did not know.

But now I truly realize the greatest gift a man can give,
is to lay his life upon the line so
someone else might live.

So as you go from day to day and pray to God above,
say a prayer for your local firemen.
He may save the ones you love!

Author
Jim Martinez,
Vice President, IAFF 7th District
Dedicated to the children of fallen firefighters