Orange Grove student fighting fires

• Orange Grove HS senior - Mamie Gonzalez - is ready for graduation in just two weeks.
• Her high school career has been more than just books. She's is a volunteer firefighter for Orange Grove and Dilley Volunteer Fire Departments.
• She will be going to Tyler Junior College near Dallas for cheerleading and to get certifications to be a become paid firefighter.

One unique firefighter in Orange Grove is putting out a few fires. This firefighter is just weeks away graduating and taking a position which stands out from others on her team.

In a few weeks, Mamie Gonzalez will hear her last bell ring at Orange Grove High School before walking out into the world.

She will soon get her high school diploma and walk into an opportunity to live a first-hand experience as a firefighter.

“My dad - when I was in junior high – eighth grade – he’d always come back and tell me stories, different stories about the accidents and the fires that he would always go on. And I really liked hearing that and I really wanted to do that, so I decided to become a volunteer firefighter,” Gonzalez, a senior and volunteer firefighter.

Mamie’s father, Nuffy Gonzalez, is in his 12th year of firefighting with the Orange Grove and Dilley Volunteer Fire Departments.

The soon-to-be Orange Grove graduate volunteers at both.

“When the alarm goes off its automatically like flight or fight mode. You don’t really know what you’re going to respond to and how it’s going to go down,” Gonzalez said.

As she prepares to walk the stage to get her diploma she’s preparing to turn her volunteering into a career.

“I plan to go to Tyler Junior College and cheering there. And getting my certification in fire and EMS. I really want to make something out of it,” mode. You don’t really know what you’re going to respond to and how it’s going to go down,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez told KRIS 6 News reporter Melissa Trevino she can’t wait to expand her knowledge working as a firefighter.

“I’m hoping to get a lot of other skills from the college that I’m attending. All the certifications that I’ll get that I can use as a full paid firefighter,” Mamie Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said she loves serving her community as a firefighter and hopes to move to a bigger community using her skills to help save lives while promoting fire safety.

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