PLANT CITY, Fla. — Temple Terrace firefighter David Burton makes American flags. But not just any kind of flag; he makes them out of retired fire hoses.
Burton uses decommissioned fire hoses that have been donated to him, and from there, he begins his creative process in his garage.
“Sometimes 12 hours a day on my day off,” Burton told K5. “Sometimes more.”
After attending a flea market in Plant City, Burton sold all of the flags, and plans to continue making them.
“It wasn’t just firemen buying them, so I knew we really had something,” Burton said.
Burton has made over 100 flags, something he both enjoys and feels is part of his duty.
“There is not a day that I drive to work that I’m not happy to be going,” he said.
Burton and his father both served in the Navy, and has expressed, “We’re all very fortunate to be born here.”
Many customers have told Burton he should raise his prices, but he doesn’t want to make the flags unaffordable to firefighters, a group of people he wants most to be able to purchase them.