Long Island Teen Who Lost Her Firefighter Dad Receives Special Prom, Graduation Surprises From Local Fire Department
Long Island teenager Cara Pouletsos lost her father in March due to a tragic heart attack. But her local fire department did not let her feel alone during her prom and graduation.
The 18-year-old shared the heartwarming story about how the Terryville Fire Department, where her father had served for 50 years, surprised her twice during the recent important milestones of her life despite her father's death.
Speaking with CBS2 reporter Lisa Rozner, Pouletsos shared that her 67-year-old father was still alive when she picked out her dress. She also said that the former fire department chief already had a plan for her prom.
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"He was going to wait in the car and he was like, 'Oh no, I want to come out, I want to take a picture of you in the dress,' when I wasn't even sure what dress I was getting," Pouletsos stated in the report.
But since he passed away months before his daughter's prom, the local firefighters decided that they should do something to make sure that their chief can still fulfill his promise to his daughter.
"We felt we should be there for John, to be there for her. And that was the first then we said. He wasn't there to take the picture with her going to her senior prom, so we would," Terryville Fire Department Chief Thomas Young stated in the report.
Because of that promise, around two dozen firefighters crashed Pouletsos' prom to take the photo, much to the teenager's surprise.
Young believed that Pouletsos had no idea what was going on at first, but eventually felt overwhelmed with joy after realizing why a group of uniformed personnel was present in her school dance.
But the surprise did not end there. Two days later, more firefighters joined in surprising the teen during her senior graduation from the Comsewogue High School. During that time, several fire engines, ambulances, and trucks were used to greet her as her name was called on stage.
"They call my name, all of a sudden, the sirens go off, the lights go off, the horns, everything," the teenager also said.
