Week in and week out, Denis Leary faces life or death challenges as a troubled firefighter on the F/X hit “Rescue Me.”
And for years, Denis has had a close kinship with real-life firefighters. But now, as Charleston, South Carolina mourns its lost heroes, Denis is stepping up for the families left behind.
“This is where firefighters differ from you and I — I know I could run in to save my kids or my wife. When it comes to absolute strangers, they turned their lives over for those people, that’s what they do,” Denis told “Access Hollywood.” “And in this case, they paid the ultimate price.”
In their final act of bravery, nine firefighters gave their lives for others in Monday’s devastating blaze in a Charleston, South Carolina furniture store.
It marked the single greatest loss of life in the line of duty since 9/11.
“You see firefighters in their jeans. Guys who just arrived on the scene probably hearing about it who weren’t on duty. You know, guys who were in regular summer clothes and throwing a helmet on,” Denis said of the men who gave their lives.
The tragic imagery hits close to home for Denis, who lost his own cousin in the line of duty during a 1999 Massachusetts warehouse fire.
“I see it and I know exactly how people are going to feel,” he added. “For the families, it’s really something that they’ll never get over. It’s hard to describe how much that sacrifice means.”
In learning to cope with his family loss, Denis established The Leary Firefighters Foundation, a charity which provides much needed training for fire departments and financial compensation for the families of the fallen heroes.
“In many cases, the bread winner of the family is gone. That’s secondary to the emotional loss of a father or a brother or a cousin or a friend,” Denis said.
Much like he did for the families of 9/11, Denis is reaching out to those left behind by the South Carolina blaze. Through the organization, he’ll raise funds which will be donated to their families beginning with $100,000 of his own money.
“Everything that comes in, will go back into the hands of these nine families to help them deal in whichever way they choose to get through it,” he told Access. “There’s a great honor and a great dignity in helping these families so that financially, they can turn around and not have to worry about certain things.”
For more information on how you can help those affected by the Charleston fire,