A Fireman’s Legacy

My father is a fireman,
He used to respond to calls,
Now he just sits at home and does nothing at all.
He says the department is full of crap,
And are all egotistical and have too much pride,
When I know deep down he loves to ride.

Finally the day comes where the pager beeps,
There seems to be a fire in the barn holding some sheep,
He says this could be a good one and gets up to leave,
Little did I know later, I would grieve,
Once he arrived on scene there was fire through the roof, “Surround and Drown” yelled the captain,
But that was not my father’s gut reaction,
Soon they heard screaming coming from inside,
There seems to be a child and apparently still alive.

He struggled with his SCBA until he heard the familiar beep,
Got down on his knees and began to creep,
Soon he spotted the child under some burning hay,
But this was no time to start yelling “yay!”
For there was a hiss off in the distance,
This he knew from experience was a propane line,
And it would blow if he did not get out on time.

He undid his coat and removed his tank,
And gave it to the child so he did not die,
The fire at this time was raging and wild,
He tucked the child under his arm,
So the falling timbers would do him no harm,
As he scrambled to the window to throw the kid out.

All of a sudden the whole house flashed,
My father knew it he was trapped,
No air, No protection, the end was near,
But he still heard the hissing and that was clear,
The barn was gonna blow, but could he make it on time?
He fought with god, please be kind,
He knelt on his knees and began to pray,
He prayed for the child, he had just saved,
And prayed for the house begging it not to cave,
He looked around and noticed the corrosion,
Before he knew it, there was an explosion.

As I kneel down at his grave,
I cannot imagine what he went through,
To save the stranger he never knew.