Hackensack, NJ Lieutenant Frank Pinto, Jr.
January 31, 2012 - Hackensack, NJ Fire Department Lieutenant Frank Pinto, Jr. retires after 26 years of dedicated service to the City of Hackensack. Frank writes:
I wrote this a week ago, because I knew I could not write this without shedding some tears so please read it thru....today, I work the last tour of my firefighter career at Hackensack NJ's Engine Co. 5, a long 26 yr journey, one filled with friendships, brotherhood, happiness and sorrow, good times and bad times, but nonetheless, a career I chose long before I became a firefighter, because it's the only job I really ever wanted, a dream that became a reality, something not many experience in their lifetime....from the time I could walk, it's really all I ever thought about, and my life and everything about it revolved into making that dream come true...they say firefighting is in your blood, and I believe that is true..my cousin and my father both served 30 yrs for the dept, so family gatherings generally revolved around fire stories, good friends of the family also served in the dept, one gave his life in the Lodd...when I started my first day on January 20, 1986, I felt such a sense of pride and yet knew that the hard part now lay ahead, to represent and serve to the best of my abilities and not let down those who came before me...2 yrs into my career, one of the hardest realities, the Hackensack Ford fire in which we lost 5 brothers including the one I mentioned earlier, would help mold the rest of my career, because reality hits hard and fast in this job...so I would learn more on as the yrs went by, as several more brothers would sadly not get to go out their way to retirement...now as I reach this last day, I can not help but thank all the guys who shared their experience and training to help me learn this job and reach this point.. I hope that I have been able to pass this on to the newer guys when they came on the job, the biggest thing being that you never stop learning this job, every single day that you walk thru those doors, never! Even tomorrow, I will learn something.....so as I leave the best job in the world, and one would say why?.. well because it's time...everyone reaches that point, and you realize how much you give up of your family and how much they give up for you...truly, I have a wonderful wife and two boys and I love them very much and they have always supported me along the way, even though I have asked for alot of sacrifices from them...the same way I felt for my dad when he was working thru the many holidays and birthdays, I just sacrificed that time, because I knew the job that he was doing demanded sacrifices......again, I would like to thank all my fellow brother firefighters, past and present, for all the help, respect, and consideration you have given me and my family thru the years...God Bless you all, stay safe and a special thanks to all that have gone that extra mile to make this last day special, love to you all!
Congratulations Frank!! It's been an honor to call you my friend and my Brother.
Read MoreI wrote this a week ago, because I knew I could not write this without shedding some tears so please read it thru....today, I work the last tour of my firefighter career at Hackensack NJ's Engine Co. 5, a long 26 yr journey, one filled with friendships, brotherhood, happiness and sorrow, good times and bad times, but nonetheless, a career I chose long before I became a firefighter, because it's the only job I really ever wanted, a dream that became a reality, something not many experience in their lifetime....from the time I could walk, it's really all I ever thought about, and my life and everything about it revolved into making that dream come true...they say firefighting is in your blood, and I believe that is true..my cousin and my father both served 30 yrs for the dept, so family gatherings generally revolved around fire stories, good friends of the family also served in the dept, one gave his life in the Lodd...when I started my first day on January 20, 1986, I felt such a sense of pride and yet knew that the hard part now lay ahead, to represent and serve to the best of my abilities and not let down those who came before me...2 yrs into my career, one of the hardest realities, the Hackensack Ford fire in which we lost 5 brothers including the one I mentioned earlier, would help mold the rest of my career, because reality hits hard and fast in this job...so I would learn more on as the yrs went by, as several more brothers would sadly not get to go out their way to retirement...now as I reach this last day, I can not help but thank all the guys who shared their experience and training to help me learn this job and reach this point.. I hope that I have been able to pass this on to the newer guys when they came on the job, the biggest thing being that you never stop learning this job, every single day that you walk thru those doors, never! Even tomorrow, I will learn something.....so as I leave the best job in the world, and one would say why?.. well because it's time...everyone reaches that point, and you realize how much you give up of your family and how much they give up for you...truly, I have a wonderful wife and two boys and I love them very much and they have always supported me along the way, even though I have asked for alot of sacrifices from them...the same way I felt for my dad when he was working thru the many holidays and birthdays, I just sacrificed that time, because I knew the job that he was doing demanded sacrifices......again, I would like to thank all my fellow brother firefighters, past and present, for all the help, respect, and consideration you have given me and my family thru the years...God Bless you all, stay safe and a special thanks to all that have gone that extra mile to make this last day special, love to you all!
Congratulations Frank!! It's been an honor to call you my friend and my Brother.
