ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – From now until Oct. 15, the nation is celebrating Hispanic Heritage month.
Among the millions of Hispanic people who have contributed to the country's growth are the brave men and women of the Orange County Fire Rescue, many of whom have Hispanic roots.
Boris Ortiz, an engineer for OCFR, said he was born in Puerto Rico and often returns to the island.
"We left when I was around 5, 6 years old and I grew up in Miami," Ortiz said.
His family moved to Florida in 1990. By then, the Puerto Rican population was already the fastest-growing in Central Florida.
Despite having left at a young age, Ortíz still maintains the traditions of his roots with his own family, especially when it comes to typical Puerto Rican food.
"Arroz con gandules, mofongo, we break all that (out) as much as we can," Ortiz said about dinners at home cooked by his wife.
Although the food is important, the tradition that he instills the most at home is family unity.
"Dinner time is family time. My daughter is an adult now, but that's the way we brought her up: no cellphones at the table. We talked at the table, and we talked about the day, homework, school," Ortiz said.
Born to a Puerto Rican father and a French-Italian mother, Ortíz worked as an airline attendant for several years. He's also a licensed commercial pilot, but his true calling was to become a firefighter, and in 2005, that dream came true.
He said that both careers have similarities, although to be a firefighter, the physical challenge was tougher.
"One had to do with safety, the other one had to do with safety also -- helping people. It wasn't that difficult. The difficult part was actually the training part," Ortiz said.
Ortiz is now in charge of driving an engine and making sure it's equipped with all the tools firefighters need in an emergency.
He's among several in his fire rescue department who have Hispanic roots including his chief, Otto Drozd, who is of Cuban descent.
"It's a very diverse department. I see a lot of Hispanics here in Central Florida. Whenever we travel the world and they ask me, 'So, where are you from?' and it's always, 'I'm from Puerto Rico. I'm an America citizen, but I'm Puerto Rican,'" Drozd said.
Being bilingual, Ortiz said, has been of great help to the community.
"It kind of startles them at first because they look at me and they're like, 'Wait a second, you're speaking Spanish to me,'" Ortiz said.