At any given moment throughout the daily life of a fire fighter, the “call to duty” can arise. Like their brethren police officers, they never know when the call will be their last one. But they answer the call because this is the line of work they chose. They answer the call no matter what the circumstances might be. They are there to help save whatever it is that might be ablaze; a home, a business, a grassland, a forest. The list goes on.

In far too many scenarios, lives are at stake. The fire fighter will put his/her own life in harm’s way to save another life as depicted here. In so doing, he/she may lose his/her own life, never to return to their loved ones. All too often, the lives lost are the result of some careless, preventable circumstance; but a life lost is a life lost.

In Sacramento, there are memorials erected in the park which surrounds the capitol building to honor the lives of those who have fallen in the line of duty throughout the State of California. There are memorials to honor those who gave their lives in a certain war. There are memorials dedicated to fallen police officers. There are memorials dedicated to fallen fire fighters. And there are other memorials and dedications to honor those in other areas of service.

I chose the fire fighters for the sacrifice they face every day, not that I am being impartial to the other groups, but because there are just so many to choose from. Here in Sacramento, we have memorials and dedications to the fallen of so many select groups. Perhaps we should combine them all as one group, so there is no need for separatism. I say this because I believe we are all of one group: the human group.

EXIF Data

Camera Type: NIKON D3100
Lens: 18.0-55.0 mm f/3.5-5.6
Date Taken: 4/3/13
Aperture: f/11.0
Shutter Speed: 1/60
ISO: 400
Exposure Mode: Manual
Focal Length: 30.0 mm
White Balance: Manual
Metering Mode: Center Weight
Light Source (In Camera): N/A
Flash: N/A
Light Source (External): Shade and sun
Size: 122 KB
Location: Capitol Park, Sacramento, California
Latitude: 38,34.3499N
Longitude: 121,29.5528W
Elevation: 6.40 m