Superheroes don’t always wear capes.
Seven years ago Manchester junior firefighter Ryan Bowman had a homework assignment — write an essay about a hero.
“Always growing up, my dad was my hero,” said Ryan, now 15 years old. “Not only because he was my dad, but because he was a firefighter.” His father Dave Bowman, a retired captain in the York City Fire Department, had no idea his son was writing about him.
"I knew nothing about it until one day I got an email from his teacher," Dave said. "It brought a tear to my eye."
Dave has always cherished that third grade essay. He even posted it on Facebook earlier this year. For the Bowman family, firefighting is in their blood.
Ryan always knew he wanted to be a firefighter, following in the footsteps of his father, his grandfather and his great-grandfather.