John Bergin

JOHN BERGIN, 39, of New Dorp, N.Y., took advantage of his firefighter's schedule. He owned a tent rental business and was two weeks shy of finishing renovations on his own bar, a lifelong dream. Bergin also used his free time to take care of his three children while his wife returned to her career as a teacher. “We were lucky, with his schedule, he could do all these things with the kids,” said his wife, Madeline Bergin. “And there was never a question that he would do it.” He was about to get more time to devote to his family and his business, as he was two and a half years short of retirement from the fire department.