梦想的力量：世界上最矮的消防员

Training to be a fireman is a tall order for anyone, but the odds are bigger when you're 4 feet 2 inches tall.

想成为一名消防员，对任何人来说都不是件容易的事请，尤其是当你的身高只有4英尺2英寸。

Still, Vince Brasco, 19, hasn't let a little thing like height stop him from volunteering at his local fire department in Carbon, Pa., for the past four years, despite being born with achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism that affects bone growth.

然而，19岁的文思·布拉斯科却没让身高这样的小事，阻止他成为宾夕法尼亚州卡本市当地消防部门的一名志愿者。尽管出生时患有一种影响骨头生长的侏儒症--软骨发育不全症，但是现在他已经在消防部门里工作了四年。

"I'll never let having achondroplasia stop me from doing anything," he told Barcroft Media. "I just set my mind to something and I go out and do my best. I wanted to be a fireman as a child so as soon as I was old enough to volunteer at 16。 I did it."

“我决不会让软骨发育不全症阻止我做任何事情” ，他告诉巴克罗夫特媒体。“我下定决心做某件事情，我就会全力以赴。我很小就想成为一名消防员，当我16岁，我就成为了消防志愿者。我实现了我的梦想。”

Achondroplasia is a disability, but it hasn't affected Brasco's ability from going full blaze when it comes to fighting fires. Nope, he races to emergencies up to three times a day along with the rest of his crew, who all tower above him.

软骨发育不全症是一种残疾，但它并不影响布拉斯科灭火的能力。一点儿也不。他和同事们有时一天三次冲向紧急情况现场。当然了，他的所有同事都比他高一大截。

In fact, when there's a big inferno, Brasco mans the hose at neighborhood blazes with his colleagues, helping to control the high-pressure jets.

事实上，当有大火发生时，布拉斯科会和他的同事在火场外操作水枪，帮助控制高压水流的喷射。

A bum knee and various medical problems have required him to have 14 surgeries on his left leg. But that hasn't prevented him from doing the job.

疼痛的膝盖和各种健康问题，让他不得不在左腿上做了14次手术。但这并没有妨碍他的工作。

Brasco says the doctor who gave him the physical exam to join the fire squad tried to talk him out of it.

布拉斯科说，他加入消防队时，体检的医生劝说他不要当消防员。

"It was a pretty heated argument because he doesn't know me," Brasco told PittsburghlLive.com. "He doesn't know what I can do. I'm just like everyone else. I just do things a little different. It's just different things I might need help with. I'm not afraid to ask for help."

“由于他不了解我，那次的争论相当激烈。”布拉斯科告诉PittsburghlLive.com。“他不清楚我能做什么。其实我和其他人一样，只是我做事情的方式和别人有些不同，我可能需要别人的帮助。我不怕找人帮忙。”

Brasco's dedication to doing the best job possible is earning admiration from his fellow little people, such as Gary Arnold, a spokesman for Little People Of America, a support group for Americans of short stature due to dwarfism. According to the group, Brasco is the smallest firefighter that they know of.

布拉斯科对工作的全身心投入赢得了小矮人同伙们的钦佩。美国侏儒组织的发言人加里·阿诺德就是其中之一。该组织为因侏儒症而身材矮小的美国人提供援助。根据该组织所说，布拉斯科是他们知道的最矮小的消防员。

"It's exciting to learn about Vince Brasco and the work he is doing as a volunteer fire fighter," Arnold told HuffPost Weird News. "People with dwarfism should be judged and evaluated according to their skills and abilities. It's great that Vince, who has proven that he has the skills and dedication, now has the opportunity to work alongside other firefighters and contribute to his community."

“文思?布拉斯科和他当消防志愿者的事让人振奋，”阿诺德对《赫芬顿邮报》奇闻版的记者说。“人们应该根据技能来评判侏儒症患者。很高兴文思已经证明了他的能力及奉献精神，他现在可以和其他消防员并肩作战，为所在的社区效力。”

Arnold isn't shocked that the doctor who gave the physical had doubt, but he isn't surprised that Brasco has thrived either.

体检的医生怀疑文思是否可以胜任消防员，阿诺德一点儿也不吃惊。现在布拉斯科成功了，他也不感到惊讶。

"For Vince and for other people with dwarfism, it's often social barriers against physical difference, not dwarfism, that stops them from doing things they want to do," Arnold said. "It is my hope that the example Vince sets will help others navigate the social barriers that stand in their way."

“对文思和其他侏儒症患者而言，往往是因为身体差异造成的社会障碍，而不是侏儒症本身，使他们放弃想做的事情。”阿诺德说。“我希望文思会树立一个榜样，帮助他人跨越阻止他们前进的社会障碍。”

Although Brasco is only 87 pounds, he can bench-press 265 pounds, which he says is necessary to handle the hoses and other heavy-duty equipment, reported Metro.co.uk.

虽然布拉斯科只有87磅，但他在杠铃推举锻炼中能举起265磅的杠铃。他说这种锻炼很有必要，因为需要举起水枪和其他较重的设备。Metro.co.uk.报道。

"I work out a lot -- as much as I can down at my gym," Brasco said. "It really helps on the job. You need to be strong. Because I can lift so much, I'm handy at salvage jobs where we have to move heavy bits of metal debris -- like after car accidents."

“我经常锻炼—每次都在健身房躺下做推举锻炼。”布拉斯科说。“这对我的工作帮助很大。必须要强壮。 因为我能举起很重的东西，所以我很擅长做需要移动重物的救援工作，比如移动很重的金属碎片---像交通事故后那样的。”

When there is a fire going, Brasco wears a custom-made fire suit while on the job.

当有火灾发生时，布拉斯科会穿上特制的防火服去救火。

"We had to take a normal suit and have it reduced down to fit me," he told Barcroft. "It was great when I put it on for the first time."

“我们只好拿出一套正常大小的防护服，然后把它裁剪到适合我的尺寸”，他告诉巴克罗夫特。“当我第一次穿上它时，感觉棒极了。”

When Brasco isn't fighting fires, he works part time at his local Best Buy and is studying to become a nurse to help others with health needs. But whenever he can, he responds to calls for the volunteer fire service.

当布拉斯科不去救火时，他在当地的百思买做兼职并努力学习，想成为一名帮助他人恢复健康的护士。但如果消防服务需要他，只要他能去，他立刻就去。

"If I am in the area, then I just drop everything and run," he told Barcroft.

“如果我在那个区域，我扔下东西就跑过去 ，”他告诉巴克罗夫特。

Firefighter Essentials exam Brasco hopes that once he completes his Firefighter Essentials exam, he'll be allowed to enter burning buildings.

布拉斯科希望他通过消防员基础考试(Firefighter Essentials exam)后可以进入火场。

"Until then, I'm happy to just fight fires from the outside, and attend other emergencies," Vince said, "but I know I've got what it takes."

“在那之前，我很高兴能在火场外帮忙并参加其他紧急情况的处理，”文思说，“但我知道我已经具备了相应的条件。”

His greatest challenge was when a neighbor's house caught fire last year.

他经历的最大的挑战是在去年邻居房子着火时。

"It was near my home and I knew the family inside. I was part of the crew outside and was firing water in through a second-floor window," he said. "It was the first time there was an accident involving someone I knew and I was really worried."

“起火的房子离我家很近，我认识里面的人。当时我在外面，通过二楼的窗户向里面射水，”他说。“那是第一次有我认识的人出现在事故中 。我真的很担心。”

"Sadly, they lost their two German shepherds in the fire but all the people got out safe and I knew we did everything we could. I felt proud to be part of the crew that saved them."

“遗憾的是，他们在火灾中失去了两只德国牧羊犬，还好没有人员伤亡。我知道我们尽了全力。能成为挽救他们生命中的一员，我很自豪。”