Adam was born on May 25‚ 1983 to Gary and Annette Cole. He was a big brother to his sister Meagan and brother Brock. Adam also left behind his soul mate Mandey and his beloved Dalmatian Birky. Many friends and extended family miss him greatly. Adam took pride in every endeavor he took on. In high school his passion was the FFA‚ where he earned numerous awards. Even after high school he continued with his pride in FFA by earning the highest award possible; The American Degree.

Adam did not come from a firefighter family. His passion began 3 years prior to his death‚ with encouragement from firefighter friends; he joined our local volunteer fire company. His love for helping others grew stronger with every call he answered. He helped with the Jr. Firefighters‚ feeds and anywhere else he was needed. In 2006 his passion grew into a career choice for him. He took his test to get into the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Academy. When it didn’t happen in 2006‚ he did not give up. Adam signed up for EMT classes and after several months of training‚ taking the practicum with a broken foot‚ he passed and became a licensed EMT for PA.

In the summer of 2007‚ Adam received noticed that his name came up and he had a chance to enter the D.C. Academy. Adam worked hard to finalize his chances of getting in. The morning of Adam’s death he got word that after his physical examine‚ which was the following week‚ he was to enter the academy at the end of October.

Adam still had numerous papers to fill out for the following week and was planning on working on them the evening of his death. The call came in and his pager went off. A neighboring county needed help with a forest fire. Without hesitation he responded to his fire station. Adam always put the safety of others above his own and this day was no different. He jumped in his car and left his house‚ forgetting one important thing‚ buckling his seatbelt. He knew someone needed his help and he needed to get there. While responding he was involved in a fatal auto accident.

Adam’s family received Firefighter of the Year award in his memory for 2007. Also‚ in his memory the Adam Cole National Fire Service Seat Belt Pledge was put into place. To all firefighters‚ please take the time to sign the pledge and remember to wear your seatbelt while responding to a call. To all others‚ please support your local volunteer fire company; they cannot survive without our help.