Little boy's wish to be fireman granted

PENDLETON, N.Y. (WIVB) - A 5-year-old boy got to see his wish come true thanks to some caring volunteers from several fire departments and other organizations.

Ask a little boy what he wants to be when he grows up and more often then not you will get answers like policeman, astronaut, maybe Superman. Jonathan is no different, but thanks to Make-A-Wish, he didn't have to wait to grow up to become a fireman.

Jonathan's mother, Rebecca Wery, said, "Every time they would come to the house, he would say, 'I want to be a firefighter; I like to help people.' So that was his wish and today we are here to make that happen."

Jonathan has been diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy, but that didn't hold him back from realizing his dream Saturday.

Wendelville Fire Chief Shawn Christman said, "From there we just started making phone calls and it seems with Make-A-Wish, no one ever seems to tell you no. It just kept getting bigger and bigger and today here we are."

Make-A-Wish Director of Program Services Cheryl Unger said, "We just put out the request for Jonathan to be a fireman and the fire department responded. They provided the little hand-made uniform for him. Mercy Flight brought their helicopter today. He had a police escort from his home here with all the different counties represented."

After being picked up after he was paged, Jonathan helped battle a blaze in a safe smoke house to rescue a Dalmatian. After his heroics were over, he was honored at a dinner where he was given his fireman's badge, making him an official member of the Niagara County fire department.

"He is a happy, very happy little boy. He has been smiling since he got here," smiled Wery.