Destined
for Firefighting
Long
before he understood the dangers, Joe Hunter was love-struck
by the sights and sounds of firefighting, the shiny red
trucks with their bright lights and whirring sirens. The
trucks from the South Hempstead Fire Department, whose firehouse
was at the end of his block, could not pass his house without
him racing behind on his Big Wheel. At age 8, Mr. Hunter
would coax friends into mock rescue drills, using the family's
water hose and a ladder.
"He
was just a kid," said Teresa Labo, his sister. "But
whenever it came to anything about firefighting, he was
always oh so serious. It was like he was destined."
So
by the time he was old enough to go off to college, to Hofstra,
Mr. Hunter, 32, was no longer just dreaming of fighting
fires. He had become a volunteer with the very department
that fueled his passion. It was a feat that meant as much
to him as the day in 1996 when he graduated from the New
York City Fire Department's academy. His family, though
proud, never stopped worrying. "God bless you,"
his mother would say on days when he rushed off to be with
his squad, 288 in Maspeth, Queens.
Hoping
to comfort her, Mr. Hunter would always pause long enough
to say: "Mom, don't worry about me. If anything ever
happens, just know I loved the job."
Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on October 2, 2001.
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