VIDEO: One Central Texas family has turned its tragedy into an opportunity for young adults pursuing their dreams of becoming firefighters.
Maria Negrete has photos of her son, Jose Negrete throughout her home. A military child, Jose Negrete first moved to the city of Copperas Cove when he was just three years old.
“He was very caring, compassionate,” Maria said. “Jose wanted to be a firefighter. That was his dream since I can recall. It takes pride to look at these pictures. That's all I have left."
The family worked hard to make his dream come true. One of its biggest hurdles was paying for the fire academy.
"Now it roughly is about $4,000 to $5,000 to get you through school,” Maria explained. “That meant that, hey, we had to take loans out. We had to put it in credit cards or he (Jose) also had to do (a) part-time job."
Following a battle with cancer, Jose Negrete passed away last year.