Firefighter Hector Tirado Jr.

Being a firefighter was the favorite of three jobs for Hector Tirado, Jr. He also worked as a waiter and sometimes as a model. He came to the responsibilities of caring for others early. His own parents died when he was still a teenager and he assumed the care and legal guardianship of his three younger siblings. At 30, he had five children who lived in Ohio with his ex. He visited them every month and every summer they came to New York to be with him. As to all his hard work, he told his uncle, “As long as it’s legitimate and I make money for my children, I don’t care.”