Everyday Holiness

Jay Danos, Grant Dupaty, and Jimmy Ledet are all members of the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department. Jay has been a member of Bowie Fire Co #1 for seven years, Grant has been a member of Fire Co # 1 for two and a half years, and Jimmy has been a member of Bowie Fire Co for six and a half years. 
 

How has your involvement in the TVFD enhanced your Catholic faith? 

Jay: Being a member of Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department (TVFD) has given me the opportunity to be a part of an organization that has become like a second family to me and to serve to our neighbors within the community, sharing my faith with others within the department and in the community at large.

Grant: When I started going to calls, I realized that we respond to the worst day of some people’s lives. My strong Catholic faith allows me to see purpose even in the darkest moments of service.

Jimmy: Learning more about the TVFD’s longtime devotion to St. Valerie has enhanced my faith in a special way. The solemn procession around church with the relic of St Valerie every year around her feast day, gives us a chance to reflect on our history with St. Valerie. Her relic was one of the few items saved from the burning church in 1916. She is considered the Patroness of Thibodaux. Each year we attend a Fireman’s Mass the week before the annual fair. This reminds me of the faith and trust we have in each other every time the pager goes off calling us to serve the community.
 

In what ways do you believe the values and teachings of your faith align with the principles and responsibilities upheld by the TVFD?

Jay: As Jesus tells us in the Gospel, “…whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” As firefighters, we often serve others when they are experiencing their lowest and most difficult moments. I believe it is in these moments we can serve Jesus by caring for those who are sick, dying, and in need. We can serve Him not just in emergency situations but at any time, whether its installing smoke detectors for the needy, teaching children about fire prevention in the schools, or helping another TVFD member in a time of need. 

Grant: Love of community is most profound to me. Our Catholic faith doesn’t just call us to live in community but to serve one another and you can see this very clearly played out in the TVFD.

Jimmy: Helping others, helping someone you don’t know, only because it is what we signed up for is similar to the way Christ was asked by many during his life on earth to help them in their time of need. Answering the call is the way Jesus would want us to live our lives.
 

Do you see parallels between TVFD service and sacrifice and Catholic teachings on selflessness and compassion?

Jay: The motto of Bowie Fire Company is “Service Above Self.” This motto is displayed on the side of the fire engine as a reminder that both as a Catholic and as a firefighter, I’m called to lay down my life for others. We must give to others without counting the cost, even when that means being woken up at 3:00 a.m. to respond to a house on fire.

Grant: Christ loved through deeds, the biggest of all was the sacrifice of His own life to save ours. Much like Christ we are loving people through service. Any time we enter a burning building we must be ok with the possibility of sacrificing ourselves for anybody that might be in that building.

Jimmy: Being a member of the TVFD is the ultimate community service! As we are all volunteers, we sacrifice our time at home with our families to help protect the lives and property of our community. Being away from family also requires that other family members be a part of that service by faithfully supporting us as members of the TVFD.
 

How has being in the TVFD Impacted your view of community and your beliefs about stewardship?

Jay: One of my favorite parts about the fire department is the fraternity among the members. When you join, you become part of a family. As firefighters, we have to trust each other with our lives. This forms a bond within the department. I know that the firefighter behind me has my back, whether it’s going into a house on fire or in day-to-day aspects of life.

Grant: The community of the TVFD is much more like a family. There have been plenty of times where my brothers and sisters of TVFD go out of their way to help me in my personal and professional life. I have been able to shadow Dr. Justin Tenney and Dr. Brent Tatford who are both in the TVFD which has allowed me to grow in my goals in medicine.

Jimmy: The Fireman’s Fair is a great example of this, growing tremendously these past several years. People from the community (now beyond just Thibodaux) come out and support the TVFD for four days. Their stewardship in spending money at the fair brings all of us together in a special way. We would not be the TVFD today without the fair – both financially and spiritually. Members come together to put on this event in ways that continually amaze me, and experiencing the community support lets us feel the solid relationship with our community.

 

Do you see your involvement with the TVFD as a form of ministry or a way to live out your faith? How has this manifested in your years of service?

Jay: I believe the Lord has called me in a particular way to serve Him through being a member of TVFD. It has given me both the opportunity to serve Him by helping those in our community but also within my relationships with fellow members of the department.

Grant: You are entering into the worst day of somebody’s life. In that moment we have the opportunity to allow those people to meet Christ through us and to love them as Christ does. 

Jimmy: I joined the TVFD at 58, unlike most that join when they turn 18. (Many families have had members for generations dating back over 100 years.) I was looking for something to get involved with as the chapter of my life as a civil engineer was coming to an end. The new Acadia Station is near my home and as it turns out the gentleman who took care of Acadia had just passed away leaving the station in need of leadership. God’s hand must have been involved as at that very time I joined the TVFD along with my son. And just a few months after joining I was appointed Captain of Acadia Station. My involvement has added so much to my life. It is a way to serve my community and allows me many opportunities to carry out the principle of my faith.

 

How have your experiences with the TVFD led to spiritual growth in your faith journey?

Jay: Being a member of TVFD has helped me reflect more on being grateful for God’s gifts in my life. Some examples are the close friendships I have with members in the department, the community’s support and generosity towards the TVFD, and the privilege to help others in need.

Grant: There are plenty of times where I’ve had to ask myself why certain events have happened. In those tough moments where I didn’t understand, God was asking me to grow in trusting Him. 

Jimmy: We see people at perhaps the worst time of their lives. When they have lost their property in a fire, or even worse when they have lost a loved one, it makes you think – what could we have done better to save that property or life? We have great equipment and wonderful people; we have been properly trained; we did the best we could - then we realize it is all in God’s hands. Every time the pager goes off, He is with us protecting us as we help others in their time of need.

 

Share moments that illustrate how your TVFD involvement and faith intersect, and inspire you.

Jay: Members frequently come together for a Bible study, praying together with the Word of God and sharing how the Lord is working in each other’s lives. We also pray for the people we encounter in emergency situations. I believe that it is in the Lord’s providence that I am able to take the people I meet through responding to emergencies back to prayer throughout my day and ask the Lord to bless them, provide for them in times of loss, or for healing in times of sickness or injury. 

Grant: One day, dispatched to a medical call, I remember asking God to allow my hands and mind to be instruments for Him. As I began assessing a lady and her daughter, I remember having the feeling of a clear mind, reassuring this distraught mother that both she and her daughter were okay. After talking for a little bit and a couple of jokes the mother was laughing and she looked at me and said, “Sir, you are really good at your job.” Truthfully, I didn’t do that much, I was just there for her, trying to love her as Christ does. 

Jimmy: Our annual Fireman’s Fair is an awesome event from Thursday through Sunday. It’s a very busy and hectic four days. Yet on Saturday afternoon, right in the middle of everything going on within the fairgrounds, we stop and have Mass in the float barn. We were honored this past year to have Bishop Dorsonville celebrate that mass to make it even more special. Afterwards, he was seen walking the fairgrounds for quite a while meeting people and enjoying the fair’s activities. He even came back the next day to see the auction! How blessed we were to have him with us. Then recently the TVFD was asked to take part in the procession taking Bishop Dorsonville’s body from Landry’s Funeral Home to St. Joseph Co-Cathedral. That day was a religious experience for me, especially proudly wearing my TVFD dress uniform for the procession and later in the day for the funeral. Knowing that the Bishop loved our fire department made this day very meaningful.