KOVA is honored to praise the bravery and sacrifice of our nation's firefighters.

I am a firefighter.

I have seen burning death and devastation.

I have seen walls crumble, roofs fall, peoples possessions perish.

I have watched forests burn for days and nights.

I know that fire is a living thing that eats and breathes, runs and rages.

I have walked in infernos, felt searing heat wound my flesh, smoke score my lungs.

I have had my life rest on my back, on the burden of an air tank and suit.

I have carried men, women and children living from the flames.

I have born the dead from smoking ruin.

I have risked my life to save property, people’s way of life.

I have seen the blazes, I have endured the suffocating dark. I have been blind and alone.

I am a husband. I am a wife. I am a parent. No matter what happens, how hard it gets, life goes on.

I am a firefighter.

I have made my life a service to my community. When the call comes, I must answer, no matter how tired, how sick; when I am needed lives are at stake. I can never give up.

Every time, at every scene, I leave part of myself behind. Fire demands its price.

I have found true friends through fire, have stood shoulder to shoulder with them. They’ve saved me; I’ve saved them.

I have known complete and utter exhaustion, but forced myself to take that next step, haul that hose a little closer. I can never give up.

I have endured the nightmares fashioned from the terror and loss I have felt, from the horrors I have seen. I have been changed by fire. I can never forget. I will always remember.

When that call comes, I know deep down that I might not come back. Someday I might have to give my life so that another can live. I can never give up.

I have known the chill fear inside that the fire might win. That I might not make the difference. That I won’t make it in time. I can never give up.

You’ll never know my name. In a world filled with communication, I often go unthanked, unremembered. I hope you’ll never need me, but if the moment ever comes, I’ll be there. Always.

I am a warrior. I battle flames.

I am a hero. I am a savior.

I am strong.

I am a firefighter.