"THE LAST ALARM"

My father was a fireman, he drove a big red truck
And when he'd go to work each day he'd say, "Mother wish me luck"
Then Dad would not come home again, 'til sometime the next day.

But the thing that bothered me the most was the things some folks
would say,
"A fireman's life is easy, he eats, sleeps and plays,
And sometimes he won't fight a fire for days and days"
When I first heard these words I was too young to understand,
But I knew when people had trouble, Dad was there to lend a hand.

Then my father went to work one day and kissed us all goodbye,
But little did we realize, that night we all would cry.
My father lost his life that night, when the floor gave way below.
And I'd wondered why he'd risk his life for someone he didn't know.

But now I truly realize the greatest gift a man can give,
Is to lay his life upon the line, so that someone else may live.
So as we go from day to day and we pray to God above,
Say a prayer for your local fireman, he may save the ones you love.

~Author Unknown~