Beyond the Call of Duty: Firefighter Commended for Tutoring Youths

An Englewood firefighter has been honored by the city council for his efforts to improve the lives of young Englewood residents.

"It was brought to my attention that one of my firefighters – who had lived out of town but moved to Englewood – had not only started volunteering to coach some of the youth teams, but on his own time had begun tutoring them," said Fire Chief Gerald Marion.

Jason Bertero, an Englewood firefighter since 2010, received an "honor community service award" for his volunteerism.

While his brothers in the fire department were in attendance at the April 3 council meeting, so was another acquaintance of Bertero's – one of the youths he tutors, Jose.

"I got a text from his teacher that he's doing extremely well," Marion told the audience. "So I'm proud of you, Jose. And I'm really proud of you, Firefighter Bertero, because you didn't do it for attention – you did it because it's the right thing to do. And that makes all the difference."