After Man Gets Hurt Mowing Lawn, Firefighter Finishes Cutting Grass for Him
Firefighters are often unsung heroes in our communities. For them, responding to emergencies is a daily responsibility. Some, however, work even harder than necessary to demonstrate compassion and generosity to their cities.
On a sunny afternoon in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, firefighters received an emergency call about a man who was hurt while mowing his lawn.
Firefighter/paramedic Dan Grimm was immediately on the scene, tending to the man’s injury.
Once the man was treated, Grimm, 31, knew his job wasn’t quite complete. He noticed that the older man’s injury had forced him to stop mowing the grass, leaving about one quarter of his lawn uncut.
Grimm didn’t hesitate to start the mower and finish the job.
He didn’t think he was doing anything unusual — he was simply doing what he believed was right.
“I thought I might as well help these nice people out and finish up their lawn so he doesn’t have to strain or anything like that for the rest of the day, and worry about three or four strips unmowed and the neighbors looking at him funny,” Grimm told the Akron Beacon Journal.
The neighborhood didn’t fail to notice Grimm’s extraordinary kindness. From her home across the street, René Rockwell snapped a candid photo of Grimm in his uniform pushing the mower.
Rockwell was particularly moved by Grimm’s compassion, in part because her own father and brothers had served as firefighters.
“When I saw the firefighter mowing the grass, I was happy,” Rockewell said. “I was so happy I was witnessing this that I knew I had to take a picture.”
Knowing that the firefighter’s good deeds should be recognized, Rockwell forwarded the touching photo to Mayor Don Walters. She hoped that the photo would remind others of the importance of kindness and compassion.
“There is so much hate in this world right now, that we need to see more of this. More people helping each other,” Rockwell said.
Mayor Walters was so impressed that he posted the photo on Facebook, along with a heartwarming caption about Grimm’s outstanding service to his community.
“Thanks for going above and beyond the line of duty!” Mayor Walters wrote.
The post has since garnered over 3,000 likes on Facebook, as of Tuesday morning. Grimm, who didn’t expect his act of kindness to earn any attention online, is humble about the situation.
“It reminded me of my grandparents and my parents and what I would want somebody to do for them,” he said.
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