After he put on a bulletproof vest and hopped onto the back of a SUV, junior Dane Lizon had a look of panic in his eyes as he traveled up to 70 mph down Post Road and approached the crime scene of a suicide.

Witnessing what was eventually a major newsflash, this was one of the few abnormal things to occur throughout a teenage boy’s time while assisting his father at the City of Lawrence Fire Department.

Even while experiencing alarming situations like this, Lizon savors the rush of it all. But this opportunity is only possible because of the guidance and mentoring of his father. 

“I’ll treat my kids one day how my dad treated me,” Lizon said.

Lizon has spent years of his childhood around the firehouse. Now, he has the opportunity to shape his future as he’s following into his father’s footsteps of becoming a firefighter.

Lizon’s value and admirability for his father led to an everlasting desire for him to be around the firehouse and allowed him to evolve to where he is now. But his father played the biggest role in accomplishing that.

He allowed Lizon to look up to him and take on the same upbringing as he did. From there, a family affair began to arise as they took part to form the future of their family.

Since Lizon spent so many of his years at the firehouse, he grew up naturally picking up on what his dad put down. And after years of just playing around in the shadows of his dad, by his sophomore year of high school, familiar beginnings began to unfold in Lizon’s life.

Lizon’s dad, Steve Lizon, has been a firefighter for almost 30 years. He works as a battalion chief who manages and supervises multiple fire stations in the area. However, his heart wasn’t always wired this way.

Initially, he was set on pursuing a career as a teacher during his time at Ball State University. But it all changed for him when his uncle, who worked as an EMT, came to visit from Wisconsin.

He took Steve to a local ambulance company in Greenwood, where he got the opportunity to ride in an ambulance which led him to fall completely in love with the idea of rescuing those in need.

He then changed his major from elementary education to paramedic science, and from there, the door to his new home began to open. 

“It’s like having a second family,” Steve said.

His son however, is a part of Steve’s family both in and out of the station. Lizon went from going on runs once a year as a child, and seeing them as ‘field trips’ to consistently involving himself in them as a teenager. 

“It kind of snuck up on me,” Lizon said.

Steve not only plays the role of a father, but he’s also a mentor.

Being both a parent and a leader at a work setting allows for Steve to better perceive his son’s growth and development within the field. 

Meanwhile, Lizon has grown to face the reality of what the profession really does, and most importantly, he’s matured greatly within the last 18 months during his journey to get here.

“He’s crossed over into being a young man and really just applied himself to doing this job,” Steve said.

Steve guided his son through the right path and gave him greater opportunities by having a close tie within the service himself.

However, Lizon doesn’t depend on his father to take charge. Instead his father leads the way and then allows him to take course of action.

“He doesn’t hold my hand through everything,” Lizon said. “But he kind of gives me a good direction to go through.”

For Steve, he believes the most important part of being in this field is the significance of integrity and strives to have his children value the same qualities.

Integrity means adhering to both moral and ethical principles, and being completely honest about one’s character.

“It’s easy to do when everybody’s watching you,” Steve said. “But it’s what you do when no one’s watching.”

Lizon’s learned to grasp onto why his father takes such pride in this trait. 

According to him, anybody can ‘play’ firefighter but the work that’s put into truly being a good fireman is what separates the two groups of people.

“You’re not going to be good when it counts,” Lizon said.

Like his father, he was introduced to runs early on. He would spend up to 24 hours with other firefighters and learn how to work alongside them.

Runs provide not only Lizon but other apprentices in the field an insight of how the system works and help people within the area.

“I feel like it gives me such a purpose,” Lizon said.

During these runs, Lizon assists with smaller gains such as flushing hydrants or draining hoses at the end of a scene.

Now, Lizon is in the process of receiving his fire certifications at a popular program called C9 through SHS.  

C9 gives select students the opportunity to learn hands-on and ultimately grasp a better understanding of their future professions.

Lizon participates in the siren rescue program. Within the service, there are two certifications each aspiring firefighter must complete to operate in any U.S. fire department. 

Along with that, the rescue program also teaches their students how to handle hazardous materials to receive their hazmat certifications.

At C9, Lizon’s instructors come up with a variety of sessions for students to participate in. Mondays and Tuesdays are spent on studying and going over the PowerPoint of the chapter for the week.

The rest of the weekdays rely on physical work outside. They complete skills around the site depending on what the theme of that day is. 

For example, Lizon’s most recent chapter was force of entry in which he went and broke down doors all day. The majority of their time is spent training in a workout area located in the automotive classes.

Although they get the opportunity to see the real world of firefighting as teenagers, they still receive punishments as a group. 

If their class average drops down from 95%, every percent they drop down by is 100 push-ups for the class to accomplish. At one point they were required to do 600 push-ups in one day.

C9 instructors implement these punishments to keep them both disciplined and prepared to face real world obstacles. It creates a routine for students to apply while knowing what penalties they may fall in line with.

“You just have to deal with the adversity, get over it and be better next time,” Lizon said.

Despite the heavy work he puts in, Lizon finds it worth it when he gets the academy teaching he receives now because it will ultimately allow him to better prepare for the future of his career.

When his junior year comes to an end, after passing both his estate fire exams and hazmat exams, Lizon will be completing his EMT his senior year.

After high school, he’s not quite sure how to move on just yet, but his current options are attending Ivy Tech Community College and completing their fire science program or getting hired by a fire station full time.

But what Lizon does know is that he hopes to inspire future generations to take pride in the firefighting career the same way his father led him to where he is now.

“I’m very grateful that he’s found something that he’s going to love,” Steve said.