NEENAH, Wis.— Two Wisconsin men are unique because of the career they have chosen.
In Wisconsin there are currently only two Hmong firefighters. Their stories are inspiring because both of their families came to the US as refugees from Laos to make a better life.
“I’m hoping I make my people proud,” Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue Firefighter, Xiong Yang says.
Xiong Yang is one of two firefighters in the state of Wisconsin. He is currently working at Neenah-Menasha fire rescue and has been there for the past four years. He was born in the US a year after his family came from Laos in 1989. He’s now been in the fire service for the past eight years. It’s a career he is extremely proud of.
“Being able to break that stereotype and break those cultural norms, I think is pretty cool,” Yang says.
Xiong Yang says its more common to see a Hmong man or woman become a police officer, but for him, his passion in firefighting first began during the Sept. 11, 2011 attacks.
“Being able to help somebody really means a great deal to me,” Yang says.
Bee Xiong is a battalion chief at the LaCrosse Fire Department. He is one of the first Hmong battalion chiefs in the country. His family’s story of coming to the US is similar to Xiong Yangs’. It was a dangerous journey to go from Laos, to Thailand, then over to the US.
Bee Xiong has worked hard to get to his higher rank of battalion chief. He says it’s something he will always be proud of.
“I’m always trying to work harder to disprove, that ‘m here became I’m Hmong, I’m here because I can do the job sometimes even better than other people,” LaCrosse Fire Department, Battalion Chief Bee Xiong says.
Bee Xiong has over 20 years of service under his belt and wants to make an impact on the next generation of Hmong firefighters, in hopes of adding more and more to the list.
“I’ve always been pretty proactive trying to recruit Hmong people into the fire service. Whenever we get into family gatherings and stuff and people ask what I do for a living and I tell them I am a firefighter you see the younger kids perk up and I say you can be one too, this is what you need to do,” Xiong says.
Both Xiong and Yang are able to share their culture with their fire family too. They are able to cook traditional dishes and share stories of their family heritage.
“It’s not about the size of the person, but the heart of a person. You can do anything you set your mind to,” Yang says.
These two men are continuing to grow the Hmong culture in Wisconsin, all while serving their communities as first responders.
Both firefighters served together at the LaCrosse Fire Department at one point in their careers. There was one other firefighter before them, who was the first Hmong firefighter in the state who served at the Eau Claire Fire Department. However, he has since retired, and they all still keep in touch.