Teen loses fire chief father suddenly — and gets a heartwarming surprise from local department

Cara Pouletsos, a Long Island teen, lost her 67-year-old father in March after a fatal heart attack, and her local fire department — where her father, John, served for 50 years — stepped in for prom and graduation surprises.

What are the details?

John's heart attack came just months prior to Cara's senior prom — an event he was very much looking forward to.

“He was there when we picked out my dress,” she told WCBS-TV's Lisa Rozner. “He was going to wait in the car and he was like, ‘Oh no, I want to come out. I want to take a picture of you in the dress,’ when I wasn’t even sure what dress I was getting.”

John never got to take a photo of Cara on her prom night, so Terryville Fire Department Chief Thomas Young and his firefighters stepped in to help fill the void left by Cara's father.

“We felt we should be there for John, to be there for her. And that was the first thing we said. He wasn’t there to take the picture with her going to her senior prom, so we would,” Young said.

According to WCBS, two dozen men and women showed up at Cara's prom in order to get the picture that her father would have been so proud to take.

“All of a sudden, I just see all of these guys in uniform, and I was like, ‘What? What’s going on?’” Cara told Rozner.

Young said that he didn't believe Cara realized what was happening at first, but once she did, became overwhelmed.

What happened at graduation?

Just days later, Cara graduated from Comsewogue High School.

To honor the commencement of their fallen brother's daughter, a larger crew from the fire department showed up with several fire engines, trucks, and ambulances.

Cara said when the school announced her name as a 2018 graduate, a cacophony of noise erupted from the department and its gear.

“They call my name, all of a sudden, the sirens go off, the lights go off, the horns, everything,” she explained.

What did Cara's mom say?

Cara's mother, Cheryl, expressed her gratitude for the department's support of her family throughout the devastating ordeal.

“It’s a terrible tragedy that happened to our family, but the love and support that we’ve received has really carried us through,” she said, according to WCBS. “I just felt like he was there with me. ... I didn’t feel like I needed to cry, because I felt like with all of them there, that he was there with me.”

Cara plans to join the firefighters in the fall and has hopes to one day become the chief of the department.