When he turned 18, Dan Buchholtz figured it was time to formally take on a firefighting responsibility that pretty much had been part of his life for four years already.
There were a few things he hadn't envisioned, of course. That he would become chief of his department 26 years later. That he would serve side by side with his brother, Stu, 60, an assistant chief. And that would retire simultaneously with his brother 47 years later.
Oh, and that he would be prompted to heavily reflect on one of the nation's most shocking moments, one that every firefighter and rescue worker couldn't help but solemnly reflect on: the 9/11 attacks in 2001 during his first full year as the then-town of Waukesha's fire chief. Buchholtz's retirement on Sept. 1 comes just days before the tragic anniversary of the terroristic attacks that changed America, but, more pointedly for firefighters, changed the idea of just how terrible an emergency response scene could be.