‘Selfie’ Captures Firefighters’ Selflessness

Ericka Andersen / May 22, 2014

A spur-of-the-moment “selfie” taken by a California firefighter has gone viral.

After a day of battling wildfires near San Diego, firefighter Tim Bergon snapped the photograph of himself – with fellow firefighters collapsed and exhausted in the background.

The restaurant Plan 9 Alehouse posted the image on its Facebook page, and the photo has received more than 36,500 “likes” — even though the page had just over 3,200 fans.

The local CBS  affiliate reported that the photo  “symbolized the sacrifice and dedication of all firefighters.” The reporter confirmed Bergon snapped the photo to let his wife know he was OK.

The image from the Southern California wildfires apparently strikes a chord with Americans. Maybe that’s because their community police, fire, emergency medical, and military first-responders – as  The Heritage Foundation’s Ed Feulner wrote last Memorial Day — routinely are “running toward danger when others run away.”