Hector Tirado Jr.

Firefighter and Model
Of his three jobs, Hector Tirado Jr. liked firefighting work the best. A former emergency medical technician, he was lured to the New York Fire Department less than two years ago by the excitement and the opportunity to help people, said his uncle, Robert Tirado.

The divorced father of five children, Mr. Tirado, 30, also worked as a waiter and, occasionally, as a model. His latest shoot was posing in casual clothes for a Latino firefighters calendar that was due out sometime this year.

His uncle said, "I'd walk on the street with him in the summer and the girls would give him their number."

Mr. Tirado, who lived in the Bronx and was a member of Engine 23 in Manhattan, did not shy away from the attention, but was blasé about it, his uncle said.

His main focus was to support his children ‹ a 7-year-old daughter and four boys, ages 11, 10, 6 and 5 ‹ who lived in Ohio with their mother. Mr. Tirado visited them every month, and they spent summers with him in the city.

"As long as it's legitimate and I make money for my children," he told his uncle about the modeling, "I don't care."