CAREY’S CORNER {carey peña reports}
HEROES AMONG US Widow of DPS officer helps families of first responders Carey Peña | Contributing Writer
“It was just another regular day and he was gone on a 24-hour shift. We had dinner and I went up to grab the pajamas and as I came down my daughter says, ‘Mommy, there’s somebody at the door.’ I looked out and realized that a DPS flight suit was standing there.” Looking through her screen door, Angela Harrolle could see a Department of Public Safety (DPS) officer flanked by two troopers. A sinking feeling took over. She knew what they were about to say. “They told me Bruce was rescuing two lost and dehydrated hikers up on the side of Bear Mountain in Sedona, and during that rescue he was struck and fatally injured by the helicopter rotor blade.” Bruce Harrolle, an Arizona DPS officer and paramedic, was killed in the line of duty n October 2008. HE DIED A HERO The thing about the word hero is that most of the people who truly fit the description don’t feel at all comfortable with it. After all, heroism is something that comes from within. Over the years as a news reporter and anchor, I’ve gone with first responders to fires and floods, mountain rescues and terrorist attacks. Every time I’ve asked the question after witnessing 16 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | NOVEMBER 2018
firsthand a day of saving lives, “How do you feel about being called a hero?” they all — and I mean, all of them — shrug and say, “I wouldn’t call myself that.” Giving is in their blood. DPS Officer Bruce Harrolle was trying to save lives and, in turn, lost his own. In the months and years following her husband’s death, Angela Harrolle realized there was power in keeping his story alive — and the stories of other men and women just like him. She remembered her husband always took a lot of notes and journaled about the calls he had been on and the stories he had heard. Harrolle, now the president of the 100 Club of Arizona, a nonprofit that provides financial assistance to families of first responders who are seriously injured or killed in the line of duty, decided to launch The Call podcast to share these deeply personal stories of first responders and what they go through behind the scenes. And the show is getting rave reviews. In fact, Phoenix New Times rated it one Phoenix’s best podcasts. A LIFE OF GRATITUDE Since the world of podcasting is all about sharing the love, I asked Angela Harrolle to come on
