There are times when it is arguably one of the toughest jobs in the world.

It takes a certain type of person to answer the call knowing that it might be the last time you see your family.

And, it takes a certain type of person who is ready to give up holidays, the birthday party of their children or a well-deserved vacation, to serve the community when needed.

In my days as Mayor of West Warwick, I had a unique opportunity to witness that commitment as few people do.

From the time a firefighter literally had his face shield melt trying to rescue a child in a blazing tenement house inferno to a retired firefighter rushing into a burning building without an air pack to rescue people because there was “no time” to put the potential life-saving device on.

There are countless other stories of heroism in the line of duty.  The Station fire has stories too difficult to even mention.

But there is one thing that seems common to firefighters throughout the country.   They talk about service to the community and really don’t like the recognition that is many times rare, but well deserved.

In a recent discussion with Warwick Assistant Fire Chief Brian Cobb, I asked about the department’s plans for the holidays.   He couldn’t have been more appreciative of what the men and women of the 200 plus department were doing to help the community and suggested that I speak with Lieutenant’s Chris Sullivan and Mike Carreiro, who is also the President of the Warwick Firefighters Union.

Sitting in Station One (Apponaug) a couple days later, I learned that they are doing a whole lot.  Not just this year but have been doing so for many years.

I was particularly interested in hearing about the firefighter’s tradition of having each of the nine stations throughout the City “adopt” a family in need and fill that family’s Christmas tree with gifts for the children who would otherwise have none.

They do so primarily by reaching into their own pockets, taking up a collection for food and gifts for the holiday season.

This on top of the drives to “give back” to the community through various events like last year, during the height of the pandemic, where they drove Santa around the City on top of a fire truck to bring a little Christmas cheer to people stuck in their own homes.

As has been documented in this newspaper, people lined up in their yards to watch Santa come down the street.

The Department even had a “Santa Tracker” online so residents could calculate when the jolly old man would arrive.

According to Lt. Sullivan, one of the highlights of last year’s special outreach was organizing fire trucks from throughout the state to bring holiday greetings to a World War Two Veteran, confined to his home.

There was also a “Fire Safety Day” when over one-thousand residents showed up to learn about protecting their families and eat some pizza afterwards (they ordered about 100 large pizzas).  Participants even went home with a special gift bag, whose contents were also donated by the men and women of the department and local merchants.

They do these things looking for no fanfare.

This year, Warwick Firefighters are once again stepping up to the plate to help needy families in the City.

And, they are teaming up with Westbay Community Action to make sure that their toy and gift donations get to the right families.

Local merchants like Dollar General have also reached out to help, asking how they can get involved by donating toys and gift cards.

Asked why we don’t know more of these examples of firefighters pitching-in to help their community, Lt. Mike Carreiro explained: “We have been doing this for many years.  We like tradition.  We are based on tradition.”   He continued “we like to help people – it’s in our DNA.  We don’t look for recognition.”

Seems to be a common sentiment throughout the department.

Unfortunately, many times the public sees only the fights over a contract or other high-profile matters, but rarely see the story of unselfish commitment to community that happens every shift.

The 200 or so men and women of the Warwick Fire Department, reached out to the community again on Saturday when Santa visited Station 1 in Apponaug and they served up plenty of hot chocolate and donuts. Santa, who arrived by fire truck,  listened to the wishes of his admirers, posed for pictures and handed out candy canes and gifts.

The kids, many children of firefighters, loved it.

And from the Buttonwoods home of the Levesque family, may we wish you a Merry Christmas and an even better New Year.

J. Michael Levesque is an occasional contributor to these newspapers.