Just hours after our babies were born, the hospital was full of joy—three firefighter dads celebrating. Then I got a text from Mateo’s
girlfriend, Callie: “I need to tell you something. Alone.”Turns out, she’d hidden a report questioning our team’s response
to a warehouse fire. She was scared, pregnant, and overwhelmed by guilt. “I don’t want to start motherhood with secrets,” she said.
I encouraged her to tell Mateo. When she did, he was calm and embraced her and their baby. “We’re a family,” he said later.
That moment reminded me—fatherhood, like firefighting, is full of surprises. But with honesty and love, you can survive any fire.
