Firefighter Eric Casiano Philadelphia Fire Department (PA) 1999

In the wee hours of May 3, 1999, my world would come to an end, as I knew it. I married my childhood sweetheart. We married at the age of 16, and had twin girls. Eric and my girls became the center of my world. Eric went into the fire academy February 19, 1992, looking for a better life for his family.

My Firefighter had an early morning fire. While he was putting out the fire, he fell through a hole in the floor and got stuck. His fellow firefighters pulled him out and they continued fighting the fire. What he didn't know was that he had crushed his spine and was slowly bleeding internally. They returned to the station and he said he was tired and went to lie down. When the next alarm came in, they found him on the floor with no signs of life. He died that morning, and with him went my husband of more than 25 years. The hardest thing I ever had to do was to say good-bye to my best friend. I never lived an adult life without him and did not have a clue on where to go or what to do next. I explain the time after the funeral as a very lost time. There honestly came a point where I had to decide within myself if I wanted to go on or die of a broken heart. I choose to go on, and with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation's help, I slowly started to put together my life, it took years to put together my life as I know it now.

I carry the life I had and his memory with me everyday and when I look into my daughters and grandchildren's eyes the good memories will live on.