NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Miami-Dade Fire Rescue held a special ceremony to pay tribute to a firefighter who gave his life while rescuing a child 35 years ago.
The touching tribute to Shawn O’Dare was held Sunday at Miami-Dade Fire Station 1 in Miami Lakes.
“He was the kind of guy that every morning would get to work before me, and he would make coffee for everybody, and he didn’t even drink coffee,” said retired MDFR Firefighter Joey Formoso. “That was just the kind of guy that he was.”
O’Dare, a firefighter and diver, died in the line of duty back on Feb. 16, 1985, while rescuing a girl from a canal in Northwest Miami-Dade.
Current and former MDFR members came together to celebrate his life, as well as the heroism he showed that day.
“A little girl rolled into a canal in a Jeep. She was seat belted in, and the Jeep was upside down in the canal,” said Formoso. “He actually went in, not telling anybody, so I got the little girl out, and when I got up on shore, and then he wasn’t there, we knew that he would be in the water, because he was that kind of guy.”
Formoso said that little girl wasn’t the only life O’Dare saved that day. He credits the fallen first responder with changing certain policies that have potentially saved hundreds of lives over the years.
“Because of him, there’s numerous stories of our fire department’s dive rescue saving lives now, and it’s all because of him,” said Formoso, “because if he wouldn’t have lost his life, they wouldn’t [have additional gear] in the truck. Every truck has two sets of gear now.”
It wasn’t just updating the gear. O’Dare’s death led Miami-Dade County to start its dive rescue program, now the largest of its kind in the country.
“None of us can ever forget that it took a tragedy such as Shawn giving his life in order for the county to react and provide the funds,” said retired MDFR Battalion chief Abel Fernandez. “We see the county trying to cut funds in different departments, and public safety is a department where funds should never be cut, because how do you place a price on life and safety of visitors to this town? It’s immeasurable.”
Flags were flown at half-staff at Station 1, where O’Dare served his community, and a wreath was laid in his memory as these public servants came together to honor one of their own.
“Our dive rescue program is a volunteer program, and our guys give 110%,” said Capt. Abraham Iglesias with MDFR’s Dive Rescue Bureau. “We do it because of the love of our job, and we do it also in memory of Shawn O’Dare.”
The Miami-Dade Volunteer Diving Program currently has over 450 public safety divers ready to help their community.
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