MICHAEL CAWLEY: Proud to Be a
Firefighter
When
Michael Cawley was 3, some firefighters drove past and
yelled: "Hey, Michael Cawley! How are you?"
"Mom didn't know these guys," said Brendan, 27, his
younger brother. "But they all knew Michael." By the time
he could walk, Michael Cawley wanted to be a firefighter.
"Wouldn't it be cool to play major-league baseball?"
Brendan once asked. "Rather be a fireman," Michael
answered.
Mr. Cawley, 30, scored 100 percent on the Fire
Department exam and was assigned to Ladder Company 136 in
Elmhurst, Queens. He was "a walking billboard for the
Fire Department," said his younger brother. He had
drawers of F.D.N.Y. T-shirts and rarely wore anything
else. He was furious when he was off duty during a big
fire. "I could see how happy he was," said Brendan
Cawley, who is studying for the Fire Department tests.
"They're buddies, hanging out talking about fires,
baseball -- not sitting in an office preparing for a
meeting. When someone goes to a fire, they all go with
him."
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