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5 year old firefighter
BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Five-year-old Ethan Grissom of Gosnell
is pretty sure he is already an off-duty firefighter, and has been
since he was 2, his mother says.
Ethan was born the son of a firefighter, Darryl Grissom, who
serves at both the Blytheville and Gosnell fire departments.
According to his mom, Dorothy Grissom, Ethan started going to
fires with his dad (and mom of course) when he was about 1½ years
old, and by the time he was 2 he claimed to be a firefighter.
"He's been dressing up as a firefighter for Halloween since he
was 2 and intends to continue the trend," Dorothy Grissom said.
"And since his dad is also a paramedic now, so is Ethan, or so he
says."
Grissom recalled one instance when her son was only 3 years old
and wanted to go see his dad at work.
"It was during the season when C-Net was in operation and
Darryl was at the fire station at the Aeroplex that Ethan wanted to
go see his dad," she said. "And no matter how many times I told
him that we were not allowed past the entrance to the facility
where the fire station was located, he refused to believe it."
She went on to say that she finally put Ethan in the car to take
him to the fire station, and just as she had said, they were
stopped at the entrance and told they could not go in.
"Ethan told Blytheville Officer Damon Travis, who was guarding
the entrance, that he in fact could go in because he was an
off-duty firefighter and had his suit in the trunk to prove it,"
Grissom said.
According to Grissom, Travis just simply could not let them in,
as much as he wanted to, and when he saw how upset Ethan was about
it, he called Darryl Grissom from the fire station to the entrance
so Ethan could see him.
"Another thing Ethan does is jump out of the car when we get to
a fire, put on his fire suit and start toward the house. Of course
he gets stopped by either me or his dad," Grissom said. "But he
just looks at us and says, 'I have to go in there and put out that
fire.' In his little heart, he really is an off-duty firefighter,
and he tells everyone who will listen."
To pacify his hunger to be a firefighter, the department lets
him help during hose testings or truck washings and that sort of
thing, Dorothy Grissom says.
"They even let him ride the truck in the Christmas parade when
he was 2, and he got to turn on the siren and the lights. That
pretty much confirmed the fact that he was a firefighter."
This week is Fire Prevention Week, and Darryl Grissom, along
with fellow firefighter Jason Taylor, is giving presentations to
the kindergarten classes at Gosnell Elementary School.
Ethan, by the way, is in one of these classes and has taken
pictures of himself in his dad's firefighting gear to school to
show his classmates that he really is an off-duty firefighter.
"He is bound and determined to be 'just like Dad,"' Dorothy
Grissom said. "And it makes my heart swell with pride to see him
trying so hard to do just that."
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
is pretty sure he is already an off-duty firefighter, and has been
since he was 2, his mother says.
Ethan was born the son of a firefighter, Darryl Grissom, who
serves at both the Blytheville and Gosnell fire departments.
According to his mom, Dorothy Grissom, Ethan started going to
fires with his dad (and mom of course) when he was about 1½ years
old, and by the time he was 2 he claimed to be a firefighter.
"He's been dressing up as a firefighter for Halloween since he
was 2 and intends to continue the trend," Dorothy Grissom said.
"And since his dad is also a paramedic now, so is Ethan, or so he
says."
Grissom recalled one instance when her son was only 3 years old
and wanted to go see his dad at work.
"It was during the season when C-Net was in operation and
Darryl was at the fire station at the Aeroplex that Ethan wanted to
go see his dad," she said. "And no matter how many times I told
him that we were not allowed past the entrance to the facility
where the fire station was located, he refused to believe it."
She went on to say that she finally put Ethan in the car to take
him to the fire station, and just as she had said, they were
stopped at the entrance and told they could not go in.
"Ethan told Blytheville Officer Damon Travis, who was guarding
the entrance, that he in fact could go in because he was an
off-duty firefighter and had his suit in the trunk to prove it,"
Grissom said.
According to Grissom, Travis just simply could not let them in,
as much as he wanted to, and when he saw how upset Ethan was about
it, he called Darryl Grissom from the fire station to the entrance
so Ethan could see him.
"Another thing Ethan does is jump out of the car when we get to
a fire, put on his fire suit and start toward the house. Of course
he gets stopped by either me or his dad," Grissom said. "But he
just looks at us and says, 'I have to go in there and put out that
fire.' In his little heart, he really is an off-duty firefighter,
and he tells everyone who will listen."
To pacify his hunger to be a firefighter, the department lets
him help during hose testings or truck washings and that sort of
thing, Dorothy Grissom says.
"They even let him ride the truck in the Christmas parade when
he was 2, and he got to turn on the siren and the lights. That
pretty much confirmed the fact that he was a firefighter."
This week is Fire Prevention Week, and Darryl Grissom, along
with fellow firefighter Jason Taylor, is giving presentations to
the kindergarten classes at Gosnell Elementary School.
Ethan, by the way, is in one of these classes and has taken
pictures of himself in his dad's firefighting gear to school to
show his classmates that he really is an off-duty firefighter.
"He is bound and determined to be 'just like Dad,"' Dorothy
Grissom said. "And it makes my heart swell with pride to see him
trying so hard to do just that."
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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