Nobody panics when the fire alarm goes off in class. It’s the first week of the month, which means it was bound to happen at some point. The students line up at the door, file out into the hallway, and make their way to the front entrance of the school, just as they had practiced a dozen times before. The real excitement comes once they reach the front lawn, where a big, red fire truck is parked along the curb with a pair of firefighters hanging off its doors.
“Oh, wow,” Little Big Heart says, coming up alongside Acer, who is also hypnotized by the way the truck shines in the sunlight. “That’s so cool. “Wait, does this mean there really is a fire?”
“I don’t think so,” Acer says. “They did this last year too. We had an assembly and the firefighters came down to teach us about fire safety.”
It’s at that moment that the teachers make the announcement about the assembly, proving Acer’s theory correct, and all of the students start making their way back inside to the cafeteria.
“We already did the fire drill,” Little Big Heart says on the way there. “What else is there to learn about fire safety?”
“A whole lot,” Acer replies. “Just you wait.”
Acer wasn’t wrong, and by the time the presentation was over, Little Big Heart was amazed to learn how much work really went into fire safety, let alone the day to day responsibilities of being a firefighter. He had thought it seemed like a pretty fun job, sliding down poles and blazing through town on a big truck with sirens blaring, but he soon learned that it is, in fact, a lot more difficult than he could have ever imagined. He had even tried on some of the firefighter’s gear just for fun—not even half of what they had to wear everyday—and it was so heavy that it nearly dropped him to the floor.
“That’s nothing,” Acer says. “They told us last year that if they even want to become a firefighter, part of their test is to carry a life-sized dummy through a burning house with all of their gear on. Firefighters are tough.”
“You got that right,” Little Big Heart replies with awe.
After the assembly is finished, the students thank the firefighters for taking time out of their busy day to talk to them, and start grouping together with the rest of their classmates. Little Big Heart waits until everyone else has moved on before approaching one of the firefighters.
“Thank you for coming to our school,” he says.
“It was our pleasure,” the firefighter replies, patting Little Big Heart on the head.
Feeling a mixture of both thrill and embarrassment, Little Big Heart drops his eyes to the floor.
“I want to be a firefighter when I grow up,” he says, a little nervous. “That way I can help people just like you do.”
“Well, that sounds like a great plan,” the firefighter replies. “I knew I wanted to be a firefighter when I was your age too. It takes a lot of hard work to get here, but we can always use more good people at the station, and you seem like a good kid to me.”
“He’s more than a good kid,” Acer says, walking up on the conversation. “He’s a Global Game Changer, his mission is to Ignite Good! for his community in any way that he can.”
“It sounds like I’m in good company then,” the firefighter says.
“How do I get started?” Little Big Heart asks. “What do I do next?”
The firefighter rubs his chin and studies the two boys, sizing them up. “Well, the first thing to do is exactly what you’ve already been doing—helping people whenever and wherever you can. Keep that up and you’ll be first in line in a few years.”
“I will,” Little Big Heart says.
They talk with the firefighter for a while longer, listening to stories about all of the training he had to go through. Little Big Heart grows more and more excited, knowing deep down that, no matter how hard it sounds, it is exactly what he wants to do one day. By the time the firefighter leaves, he knows where he needs to start.
“I know what I want to do,” he tells Acer. “I want to do a service project for the fire station. I might be too young to be an actual firefighter, but I can still do something good for them to help out.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Acer says. “What were you thinking?”
“Well, I haven’t really figured that out yet.”
“That’s okay. I say we take this service project of yours back to the group for more input. Between all of us, I’m sure we can come up with something good.”
“That’s a great idea!” Little Big Heart says, already thinking about walkathons, car washes, and chili cook-offs, knowing that the right idea will come in time, and that the Global Game Changers will be there to have his back.
