Continued
from Michael's Home Page
No.
6611 was a Roberts family heirloom by then, but Michael Edward
Roberts had a habit of misplacing things. So
his mother, Veronica,
urged him to think about putting the badge in a vault and getting "one of those fake ones" for
everyday use. She need not have worried. In nearly four years as
a firefighter, Michael Edward Roberts never lost track of that
badge. He was as conscientious a recruit as Lt. Michael Bell, an
officer of Engine Company 214 in Brooklyn, had ever seen. Although
Firefighter Roberts had transferred there only in March, Lieutenant
Bell said, "We could tell he was going to be a star." Being a fireman was the center of his life, but Firefighter Roberts, 31, was more than that, said his uncle, Assistant Police Chief Joseph Fox. "He had a way of popping into and out of people's lives," Chief
Fox said. At times it seemed he was in two places at once because
there was another firefighter — same name, same age, same background.
The only time their families met was at their funerals. Firefighter
Roberts routinely volunteered to work holidays for colleagues
at the firehouse who had families. And he watched out for his
younger
sister, Karen, always pushing her to finish college. She will.
Next month.
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