“The Littlest Firefighter,” the Story of A Dying Boy and the Phoenix Fire Department–Truth!
Summary of eRumor:
A touching story about an unnamed boy who was dying of leukemia. He told his mother that he wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up, so she called their local fire department in Phoenix and with the help of big-hearted “Fireman Bob,” the little boys wish came true. He was a firefighter for a day with a little uniform and all. Later, as the end came for him, the firefighters came to the hospital with a ladder truck, climbed up the ladder to his widow, and joined him in his room as he breathed his last.
The Truth:
Although several details in this particular eRumor version of the story are not completely accurate, the story is true. “Billy” is actually 7-year-old Frank Salazar (his family called him “Bopsy”) and he was the first child to be helped by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that fulfills the wishes of children with life-threatening illness. The story is from 1981. It was Make-A-Wish that made the contact with the Phoenix Fire Department as a part of one of three wishes that Bopsy had. The other two were to visit Disneyland and ride in a hot-air balloon. All his wishes were fulfilled.
Make-A-Wish contacted firefighter Bob Walp who was well known to children in Phoenix as “Fireman Bob” on the popular “Wallace and Ladmo” television program. Bopsy was welcomed to a fire station where a custom-made uniform was waiting for him complete with a yellow helmet and coat. He did not go to any fire scenes that day, but did ride in the fire truck and got to use a fire hose. The day ended with his being given a firefighter badge.
Later, when Bopsy’s condition worsened and he was in the hospital, it is true that some of his firefighter friends came through his hospital window for a visit. It was five firefighters, not 16. They prompted some smiles from Bopsy then left. He died later that evening.