A Letter From a Firefighter
by Wu Tsung-han · Oct 2026
Dear students of Class 902,
Thank you for your letters and the drawings which you sent to our fire station. They have been put up on the wall next to our kitchen, and they make us smile every day. Many of you asked me about my job, so I would like to answer you in this letter.
I have been a for eight years. But as a child, I was a shy boy who was afraid of the dark. People are often surprised by this. When I was fourteen, a fire broke out in the building next to ours. I watched two men in yellow fire suits carry an old woman out through the smoke. That night, I made up my mind to become one of them.
The word "firefighter" makes most people think of fires. But fires are only a small part of our work. We are also called to car accidents, floods and typhoons. Sometimes a cat is stuck in a tree, or a child's finger is stuck in a bottle! The job is not easy. Our is very heavy, so we train hard to stay strong. We work for twenty-four hours at a time, and we must stay in every . The hardest part is the . Every second really counts.
Some of you asked, "What do I need to become a firefighter?" A strong body is important, but a good is even more important. You must care about other people and work well with your team. No firefighter has ever saved a life alone.
Please study hard, keep healthy, and be kind to the people around you. Those are the first steps for any career. And if you see smoke, call 119 first!
Best wishes, Officer Wu Zhongshan Fire Station