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Denis Leary didn\u2019t want to do another golf tournament for a fundraiser. Or an auction.<\/p>\n
But the actor-comedian, currently starring in the Fox comedy \u201cGoing Dutch\u201d and best known as the voice of Diego in the \u201cIce Age\u201d movies, needed more donations for his Leary Firefighters Foundation. He came up with what he called a \u201ccrazy idea\u201d to host a \u201cFirefighter for a Day\u201d event and teamed up with the Fire Department of New York and The FDNY Foundation to make it happen, in honor of International Firefighters Day celebrated every May 4.<\/p>\n
Since 2016, the foundation\u2019s Denis Leary FDNY Firefighter Challenge has been the only day each year when the FDNY Fire Academy on Randall\u2019s Island in New York City is open to non-firefighters, who get a rare, hands-on opportunity to experience some of the training needed for emergency response.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was exciting from the get-go,\u201d Leary told The Associated Press. \u201cNow, 10 years in, it just gets better and better every year. It\u2019s truly amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The participants train with actual firefighters and rush into burning buildings, carry in fire hoses to extinguish the flames, and search for survivors. They also rappel down buildings to safety.<\/p>\n
Leary, who has long been connected to firefighters through the foundation and the long-running firehouse FX drama \u201cRescue Me,\u201d said participants aren\u2019t required to do anything they don\u2019t want to. But once they see the teamwork and expertise involved, they often take on more than they planned.<\/p>\n
He laughs when he remembers how \u201cThe Good Wife\u201d star Julianna Margulies came one year, planning on being a coach rather than a participant when he left her with her new team.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe two hours later, I went over by the high-rise simulator and she was coming out in full bunker gear and she\u2019s like, \u2018I just rappelled down the side of the building!\u2019\u201d Leary said. \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018What are you talking about?\u2019 She\u2019s like, \u2018I know! I overcame all my fears.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Because of Leary, the event draws a lot of actors, as well as athletes and corporations looking to lend their support. Each year, the event raises enough money for the foundation to make several additional grants to fire departments across the country to purchase new equipment or receive additional training they would otherwise not be able to afford, said David Morkal, retired FDNY battalion chief and a member of the Leary Firefighters Foundation board of directors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we started this 10 years ago we were giving out maybe $200,000 in grants a year and now we\u2019re giving out $850,000,\u201d said Morkal, adding the foundation hopes to reach $1 million in grants this year. \u201cThere are volunteer fire departments out there that are fighting for every $100 they can get.\u201d<\/p>\n
The criteria for the gifts, Morkal says, remains the same today as it was when Leary started the foundation in 2000, following the tragic fire in Worcester, Massachusetts, that killed six firefighters, including Leary\u2019s cousin and a childhood friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis mission is to provide them with all the equipment and training that (firefighters) need to walk away from a fire after it\u2019s out and go home to their families,\u201d Morkal said. \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of stuff we\u2019re doing. We\u2019re giving them training and equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n
John Tyson, assistant fire chief at the Talladega Fire Department in Alabama, said the forcible entry trainer that his department received from Leary\u2019s foundation is used almost every day.<\/p>\n
The equipment, which enables firefighters to quickly breach locked doors, makes the department more effective when it answers emergency calls, but it paled in comparison to high-priority items in the department\u2019s always-tight budget, Tyson said. Having spent decades as both a firefighter and a paramedic, Tyson said he believes people appreciate the fire service, but they don\u2019t always recognize that first responders often need support.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a small department in rural Alabama,\u201d he said, adding how grateful he was that Leary\u2019s foundation wanted to help. \u201cIt\u2019s touching to me that someone who has achieved the success he has still wants to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n
International Association of Fire Fighters General President Edward A. Kelly said he wished that the Leary Firefighters Foundation wasn\u2019t needed, that fire departments were able to afford the equipment and training they need without philanthropic help.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you think about the core role of government, first and foremost, it is to protect its citizens and that\u2019s what fire departments do every day,\u201d said Kelly, whose union represents 360,000 firefighters and first responders in the U.S. and Canada. \u201cWe have a problem where fire departments in the United States are on budgets where they\u2019re competing with a multitude of other demands on city government — whether it\u2019s the schools or new bridges or parks or anything that\u2019ll get a politician reelected. That\u2019s a flawed system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly said Leary\u2019s foundation stands in \u201cthe giant void,\u201d trying to address the shortfalls created by the system. He adds that most fire departments in the country have equipment donated by the foundation, after its 26 years of gifts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe owe a great debt of gratitude to Denis and to all the people that have helped support the Leary Foundation,\u201d he said. \u201cWhatever will fill the gap that will prevent the next tragedy is well worth the investment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shortly after the 9\/11 terrorist attacks, Leary hoped the federal government would make his foundation unnecessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a brief moment about six months later when we thought, \u2018Is the government gonna step in?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cIt was the tiniest glimpse of hope but we realized, \u2018No, of course not.\u2019 But that\u2019s OK. I love doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leary said he is following the example of his friend Boston Bruins hockey great Cam Neely, now the team\u2019s president, and his work supporting cancer patients at Tufts Medical Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was the first person I saw where I thought, \u2018Wow, somebody famous can really make a difference,\u2019\u201d Leary said. \u201cSo by the time I had to do something, I had a good example of what you can use fame for.\u201d<\/p>\n
_____<\/p>\n
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP\u2019s philanthropy coverage, visit https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/philanthropy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n