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HIGH-FIVES FOR A HERO

Glendale firefighter Danny Valenzuela, flanked by Danielle and Daniel

Before sports heroes or even superheroes, a dad is often the first hero a child knows. And when those dads have a job that is especially heroic – such as being a policeman or firefighter – it can be a lot for any man to live up to.

But Daniel Valenzuela wouldn’t have it any other way.

Each month, dressed in his Glendale Fire uniform, Valenzuela visits his son and daughter’s school.

“I walk through the lunchroom giving high-fives to all the kids and my kids are proud because I’m their dad.

“Every dad wants to be cool,” Valenzuela says. “One of the best things about this job is that kids love firefighters.”

Valenzuela’s two children, 15-year-old Daniel and 13-year-old Danielle, were old enough to appreciate the hard work their dad put in to reach his goal when he joined the Glendale Fire Department four years ago.

“I’ve always wanted to be a firefighter and they knew that,” Valenzuela says. His preparation, including hours studying at home, became part of their family life. “It was a very long, intense process – from the moment I took the recruitment test it was about a year and a half before I was finally hired.”

But along with the excitement of having a firefighter dad comes the worry. Valenzuela, who serves on the department’s special operations unit and is on assignment as public information officer, tried to allay his kids’ fears as much as possible.

“I took them to the training academy and I showed them what we do to prepare and explained how safe the job actually is,” he says.

Valenzuela has also learned to be careful of the images of his job that his kids may see in the media. His daughter was shaken after watching a recent movie about firefighters, Ladder 49, which depicted some rescuers being seriously injured and even dying on the job. “It was an opportunity, at the very least, to instill faith in them, and let them know that God is protecting me every day that I go to work.”

He’s careful what he shares about his work, especially if he’s been in a serious situation. “I know how safe we are, I know what it’s like to be in safety classes, but my kids don’t.”

He has explained to his kids the fire service protocol that “we will risk our lives a lot to save save-able lives, we will risk our lives a little to save save-able property, we won’t risk our lives at all to save what’s already been lost,” which has helped.

“Today they’re very confident that I’m safe,” Valenzuela says. “They’re proud of the job that I do.”