Boy declared honorary Orange County firefighter

Jared Santos battling rare bone disease

WINTER PARK, Fla. – Ten-year-old Jared Santos' fight against a rare form of bone cancer is a fight his entire family battles every day.

"We've been dealing with this and fighting with this since 2013," said his mother, Gira Romero. "It's been hard."

Friday night, that battle took a back seat to a bit of good news. Jared was named an honorary firefighter by Orange County Fire Rescue.

It was all arranged by Engineer Jesse Harris, who met Jared when his company served dinner at the Ronald McDonald House in Orlando. There, they bonded over everything "firefighting."

"We just kind of stayed in contact, and every time we had a shirt or a hat we got to give it to Jared," Harris said. "We just wanted to make him feel part of us."

On stage, Jared was awarded with a certificate recognizing him as an honorary firefighter. The audience rose to its feet to applaud his accomplishment and his courage.

Their friend, Harris, a courageous firefighter, said he now has a different view on what he calls a hero.

"People are always telling us we are brave and courageous, but to me this boy is brave and courageous," he said.


About the Author:

Erik Sandoval joined the News 6 team as a reporter in May 2013 and became an Investigator in 2020. During his time at News 6, Erik has covered several major stories, including the 2016 Presidential campaign. He was also one of the first reporters live on the air at the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

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