Bronx Firefighter Lives Out His Childhood Dream

F irefighter Edwin Rodriguez is a Mentor in the FDNY Firefighter Candidate Mentorship Program and has been a member of our Department for nearly 23 years. He noted that it wasn’t an easy process to get to where he is now, but he doesn’t see his job as work because he enjoys it so much.

“Who would have thought that a kid from Washington Heights would be living out his lifelong dream of being an FDNY Firefighter? What I love about my job is working in the community that I live in and being able to help the people in my neighborhood. I also enjoy going into work and seeing kids react and wave as we go by. That feeling can’t be described,” he said. “I know this job is physically demanding, so I always keep cardio in my workout and I’m always training. My advice to all candidates is train hard and use the resources that are available through the programs that the FDNY offers such as the CPAT Training, Fitness Awareness and Mentorship programs. These programs were not available to me when I came onto the job and having a Mentor and participating in the CPAT Prep Program shines a light on the job and they will learn more about how to get ready for this great career.”