Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
Newport News Firefighters made one of their brothers’ day by giving him a ride around in a fire engine. The Brother is retired Firefighter Fred Broyles. He retired 8 years ago, immediately after finding out he had cancer.
Fred actually has a local connection. He and a firefighter at my firehouse, David Lucas, are cousins. Another cousin of his is on the job in Salem, VA.
Newport News, Va. – A former state trooper and Newport News firefighter who has been battling cancer for the last 8 years got his dying wish on Thursday.
He wanted to get one last ride in a fire truck and his second family of firefighters took action to make Fred Broyles’ wish a reality.
Dozens of firefighters across Hampton Roads worked together on this extra special request.
“When Fred found out he had cancer, he went to the doctor and never come back to work,” says his wife. “He said for so many years, ‘I never took my last ride. If I had known the last time I was in the engine it was my last ride, I would have been happy.”
He was given only weeks to live, and Boyle’s wife called his other family, his fellow firefighters, for one last ride.
