It all started back in 1952 when Rocco "Rocky" Russo joined the Youngstown Fire Department.
Ever since that day, there's been a Russo fighting fires in the city.
"It's like another home," said his son, Rich.
In 1976, Rich followed in his dad's footsteps, getting sworn in as the next Russo on the department.
"Its just something I have a passion for," said Rich. "The people. The excitement. Just being able to serve and help other people."
And that passion was contagious. In 1980, the next Russo, Rich's twin brother, Ron, began to serve alongside his father and brother.
"He was on before me. He taught me some stuff. I worked with him for a lot of years. I was a fireman on his rescue squad for about nine years. We worked well together," Ron Russo said.
But the days of working together will end come Monday, as Rich Russo is set to retire.
In his more than three and a half decades, Russo helped put out thousands of fires. And his last week on the job didn't disappoint because he was on duty when the tanker flipped on Route 711 on Tuesday.
Firefighting is just another experience that has become ingrained in the Russo way of life.
"It's been great. It's something that's in our blood," Russo said. "It's something we talk about at the table and our wives get used to it. And they accept it and they have a great time with it. We tease my younger brother for being a policeman."
But even in retirement, Russo won't go too far. He still plans to teach at the department.
As for his twin, Ron said he wants to extend the Russo era a few more years before he calls it quits.
"We both started as firefighters and we're both going to retire as battalion chiefs. So through our accomplishments, we made our dad real proud," Ron Russo said.
