Romancing the Blog | Romance Authors and Readers Who Blog

by Kathryn Shay

The title of this article isn’t exactly true. Firefighters have only been my heroes for about twelve years, when I decided to propose some fire department books for Harlequin Enterprises. This suggestion led to five novels for SuperRomance and now four for The Berkley Publishing Group. My latest, TAKING THE HEAT, out in May, tackles the issues involving female firefighters in New York City. They don’t have it easy, I’ll tell you that.

I initially decided to write about firefighters because I respected them and appreciated the job they do. I had no idea how this would transform into utter awe and intense admiration until I began spending time with them. Through my teaching connections (I taught high-school English for a long time), I was able to meet and interview a line firefighter with my local 500-plus fire department. From there, I was invited to a fire station for lunch, extended an invitation to observe at the fire academy, allowed to ride the trucks on actual calls and encouraged to hang out at the firehouses for coffee or meals. Through it all, I interviewed the individual men and women of the Rochester Fire Department, read countless books they recommended to me and did a wealth of first hand research on the line. Even our very busy fire chief spent a whole afternoon with me, helping to iron out the plot for the hero in my fire chief book.

The first run I went on was at seven a.m. on a Sunday morning–a stabbing which required police backup. I rode along to working fires, flooded basements and EMS calls. The guys gave me one of their turnout coats to wear, let me start a generator and hold the Jaws of Life (it’s smaller than you’d think). One lieutenant led me (by the hand) in a training exercise through white mist that simulated smoke. I was totally blind, which is routine for them, and was truly frightening for me. Also, one snowy Friday night, they booted up the Hazmat truck just for me so I could have hands on experience of the ways they deal with terrorism. And sadly, I attended a traditional firefighter funeral, which was as impressive and grave as people say it is.

But the highlight of my research was getting to know these brave men and women as people. At first they were wary of me. No one swore when I was in the house. They were careful to seat me first and wait until I had my food to begin eating. I couldn’t do dishes or help out with clean up. Basically, they were on their best behavior. Eventually, though, they loosened up and began to cheer when I came to visit, let me set the table and started to tease me relentlessly. They also became affectionate with me as they are with each other. (Firefighters are big huggers when their guards are down. It was tough, but hey, somebody had to do it.)

It was then that I got to really know firefighters. Some are arrogant and cocky on the outside, but most are sensitive and introspective on the inside. I heard stories that made me cry: losing a child in a fire, which most agree is the worst thing that can happen to them; what it felt like to get so burned they ended up in the hospital; the sheer joy of finding trapped victims; the difficulty of balancing home and work, and how hard it is to talk to their families about what they do. And not one of them considered himself or herself a hero and denied the tag when I told them they were.

I’ll leave you with one last picture. I got to be good friends with a paramedic named Joe who taught at the academy. He was the one who helped me the most in my research so when the release date of the first Berkley book approached, we decided to take a promo picture for the back of the books. When I did book signings, he came to the events with me. People loved him and asked him to sign their copies, too. And I’ll never forget how all the firefighters from the various station houses showed up at these signings, bringing their kids and husbands and wives and moms and grandpas. It was a like a reunion.

I have these people to thank for the quality of the books I wrote about them, the reality of the world of firefighting and the details I was able to infuse in my characters’ personal and professional lives. Is it any wonder they truly did become my heroes?

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