78 Firefighter Quotes to Appreciate our Hometown Heroes

These firefighter quotes will show exactly why we should appreciate and respect those that serve and protect us each day. 

Heroes come in all different forms.

When some people hear the word their minds go instantly to superheroes.

And while they may be a type of hero that’s fun to watch on TV or read about in comic books, they aren’t the real heroes. 

Why should we appreciate firefighters?

The real heroes are those that are working to protect us and keep us safe each day like firefighters.

While they are often overlooked in the community, they never hesitate to come running to save people in all kinds of emergency situations.

And, that’s why we need to show appreciation to our firefighters. 

In honor of our hometown heroes, below is our collection of firefighter quotes and sayings, collected from a variety of sources over the years.

Don’t forget to also check out these service quotes about country and community.

If you enjoy this article, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily motivation.

Browse our entire collection of inspirational quotes for more motivating ideas and concepts.

Firefighter quotes celebrating firemen

1. “The funny thing about firemen is, night and day, they are always firemen.” – Gregory Widen

2. “Every firefighter knows that he is always susceptible to this type of tragedy. They go to work every day knowing that they are doing something so positive, that people really respect them and appreciate them.” – Thomas Von Essen

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3. “Firemen never know what they will encounter on each call but proceed with the same level of commitment and service.” – Byron Pulsifer

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4. “I have no ambition in this world but one, and that is to be a fireman. The position may, in the eyes of some, appear to be a lowly one; but we who know the work which the fireman has to do believe that his is a noble calling. Our proudest moment is to save lives. Under the impulse of such thoughts, the nobility of the occupation thrills us and stimulates us to deeds of daring, even of supreme sacrifice.” – Edward Crocker

5. “In fire, you can plan everything out to the minute, and a minute before that, everything changes.” – Dan Felix

6. “When a man becomes a fireman his greatest act of bravery has been accomplished.  What he does after that is all in the line of work.” – Edward Croker

7. “Firefighters go where they’re needed, sometimes ignoring the dangers even when no one is inside a burning building to be saved.” – Bill Dedman

8. “Nothing cries out for compassion, concern, and danger as a fire engine screams by carrying firefighters ready to do battle without flinching from any demand.” – Byron Pulsifer

9. “Becoming fearless isn’t the point. That’s impossible. It’s learning how to control your fear, & how to be free from it, that’s the point. Necessity of action takes away the fear of the act, and makes bold resolution the favorite of fortune.” – Francis Quarles

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Firefighter quotes to show appreciation

10. “When fire is cried and danger is neigh, ‘God and the fireman’ is the people’s cry; but when ‘tis out and all things righted, God is forgotten and the firemen slighted.” – Unknown

11. “All men were created equal, then a few become firemen.” – Unknown 

12. “Firemen never die, they just burn forever in the hearts of the people whose lives they saved.” – Susan Diane Murphree

13. “Firefighters are indispensable foot soldiers here at home.” – Christopher Dodd

14. “But sound aloud the praises, and give the victor-crown to our noble-hearted Firemen, who fear not danger’s frown.” – Frederic G.W. Fenn

15. “Firefighter appreciation isn’t just a once a year affair because firefighters are there for each of us every day.” – Byron Pulsifer

16. “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” – Maya Angelou 

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Firefighter quotes celebrating their bravery

17. “I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine.” – Kurt Vonnegut

18. “Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.” – General George Patton

19. “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

20. “True courage is being afraid, and going ahead and doing your job anyhow. That’s what courage is.” – General Norman Schwarzkopf

21. “Real heroes are men who fall and fail and are flawed, but win out in the end because they’ve stayed true to their ideals and beliefs and commitments.” – Kevin Costner

22. “Being a firefighter is as close as you get to being a modern day soldier in your home country.” – Tom Dawson

23. “Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid.” – Franklin P. Jones

24. “More often than not, a hero’s most epic battle is the one you never see; it’s the battle that goes on within him or herself” – Kevin Smith

25. “The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.” – Thucydides

26. “I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” – Christopher Reeve

27. “People are always asking me how is it that firefighters run into a burning building when everyone else is running out. Courage is the answer. ” – Chief Kennedy, Ladder 49

28. “You have to do something in your life that is honorable and not cowardly if you are to live in peace with yourself, and for the firefighter it is fire.” – Larry Brown

29. “What firefighters and people in our military and cops do is separate from what the rest of us do; basically these people say, ‘I’m going to protect all these strangers.’” – Denis Colin Leary

30. “The hero is the man who lets no obstacle prevent him from pursuing the values he has chosen.” – Andrew Bernstein

31. “Courage isn’t that you can see what lies ahead; courage means you will advance not knowing but doing at all costs”. –Byron Pulsifer

More firefighter quotes

32. “Aspire rather to be a hero than merely appear one.’” – Baltasar Gracian

33. “Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed.” – Bob Riley

34. “Firefighting – one of the few professions left that still makes house calls.” – Unknown

35. “Firefighters are some of the most selfless public servants you will ever encounter.” – Denis Leary

36. “To me, there’s only 5 real jobs in America: Police Officers, Teachers, Firefighters, Doctors, and the Military Service.” – Charles Barkely

37. “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” – Joseph Campbell 

38. “Man is the only creature that dares to light a fire and live with it. The reason? Because he alone has learned to put it out.” – H.J. Vandyke

39. “As the member of a firefighter family myself, supporting the widowed families of rescue workers is an important, personal cause of mine.” – Mark Sanchez

40. “Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brace by doing brave acts.” – Aristotle

Firefighter Quotes about their Heroic Service

41. “A hero has faced it all: he need not be undefeated, but he must be undaunted.” – Andrew Bernstein

42. “The apocalyptic firefighters chopped away mercilessly at the infected, until none were left.” ― Jason Medina

43. “What is most admirable about firefighters, is there reliability. When they are called, they come.” ― Dennis Smith

44. “Firefighter is one of the few jobs kind enough to warn me away by containing two words I’m not interested in, unlike the deceptive bookkeeper.” – Joel Stein

45. “My dad’s a firefighter, so I know what it’s like for policemen and firefighters to be on their own on Christmas Day.” – J. J. Watt

46. “The special ops guys and the firefighters around the world have this great phrase. They say, ‘Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast,’ and that is true. Everything I’ve accomplished in my life has been because of that attitude.” – Jeff Bezos

47. “It’s an interesting thing to play the heroes of our society, like cops and firefighters. They’re the basic heroes that, as little boys and little girls, you look up to as the first heroes of your small, specific community.” – Omari Hardwick

48. “My heroes are those who risk their lives every day to protect our world and make it a better place – police, firefighters and members of our armed forces.” – Sidney Sheldon

49. “Our firefighters are our last line of defense, baby.” – Jack Scalia

50. “If crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight?” – George Carlin

Firefighter Quotes About To Celebrate their Selfless Nature When Saving Lives

51. “I became a firefighter because I wanted to save people. But I should have been more specific. I should have named names.” ― Jodi Picoult 

52. “Firefighter required to perform all the necessary tasks in order to control an emergency situation.” ― Dennis 

53. “Firefighters also fill a variety of roles that help to keep the community safe.” ― Brian Rogers

54. “The innovative leader has to be an arsonist and a firefighter.” ― Paul Sloane 

55. “When the bell rang, a firefighter was expected to stop everything to help others.” ― Glenn Corbett

56. “You may not have saved a lot of money in your life, but if you have saved a lot of heartache for other folks, you are a pretty rich man.” ― Seth Parker 

57. “This job isn’t for everybody. It takes someone special to be a firefighter.” ― Glenn Corbett

58. “Anytime I get to help the firefighters, I will. I’m really lucky to be in a position to help.” ― Adam Ferrara

59. “Good Firefighters will know their job. Great Firefighters will also know the job of the person above them as well as teach their job to the person below them.” ― Bob Muszynski 

60. “Being a firefighter is hard. But, it is also rewarding. It feels good to help people when they are in trouble.” ― Melissa A. Settle

Firefighter Quotes To Keep Us Safe

61. “There are times when I feel over-rewarded for what I do for a living, especially when I compare what I can earn to what my brother earns as a firefighter.” ― Kate Thornton

62. “The will to live that possesses us to create medicine, to become firefighters or teachers, is the same will to live that is woven into all living beings.” ― Ian Somerhalder

63. “Ron Atkinson was a firefighter. He came in and he stabled the club.” ― Bobby Gould

64. “In West Virginia, we’re all family. We know how firefighters and policemen honor their own and we feel our miners deserve to be honored in a similar way.” ― Ginger Baker

65. “Firefighters are essential to the safety and security of our local communities. We owe it to these men and women to provide them with better training and equipment so they can do their jobs more effectively and safely.” ― Carl Levin

66. “They were involved in a firefight and felt they were surrounded. Whether they escaped from that and were fleeing and went in the wrong direction, we don’t know.” ― Hugh Shelton

67. “Delaware’s firefighters put their lives in jeopardy every day in an effort to keep families safe.” ― Thomas Carper

68. “If your goal is to produce firefighters and rescue workers, you have to produce people willing to enter burning buildings.” ― Brian D. McLaren

69. “Women love firefighters so much because it’s like a knight in shining armor kind of thing.” ― Taylor Kinney

70. “Firefighters don’t go on strike.” ― Denis Leary

71. “Heroes wear helmets, not capes; they are called firefighters.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo

72. A firefighter’s true strength lies not only in the ability to extinguish flames but in the heart that ignites the fire to save lives.” ― Alex Elle

73. “When the world is ablaze, firefighters are the guardian angels who walk through the fire to rescue those in need.” ― Rashida Rowe

74. “Courage is the flame that burns brightest in the hearts of firefighters, lighting the way in the darkest moments.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo

75. “A firefighter’s commitment is measured not just in hours of service but in the lives touched, saved, and forever changed.” ― Alex Elle

76. “Once you have a firefighter in your family, your family and the families from his crew become one big extended family.” ― Denis Leary

77. “In addition to my cousin, there were 30 or 40 guys I grew up with who became firefighters as well. So, I’ve been around firefighters all my life.” ― Denis Leary

78. “The hand at her back stroked up and down. Never straying too far south, but igniting a fire inside her that she wanted this fireman to stoke instead of extinguish.” ― Tamara Hoffa

How can you respond?

If you are serving or have served as a firefighter, then you’re already doing your part.

If not, what can you do to respond after reading these firefighter quotes?

What can you do to show appreciation to the hard work and bravery that these men and women have? 

Take some time and read over the quotes again.

Think about the sacrifice that they make and the risk that they take each day in order to protect you.

Then, think about what you can do to show the firefighters in your local area how much you appreciate what they do for you.

Which of these powerful firefighter quotes resonated with you best?

Do you have any other inspirational quotes to add?

Let us know in the comment section below.