Hollywood has honored thousands of icons over the decades, but this Friday, the city will add a new kind of star to its storied sidewalks: one dedicated not to entertainers, but to the men and women who protect Los Angeles with their lives.

And it all started with one 14-year-old girl.

When Cincinnati eighth-grader Eniola Taiwo wrote an essay about personal heroes for a civics class assignment earlier this year, she didn’t choose a celebrity, athlete, or fictional figure. She chose the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Her heartfelt letter, sent to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Hollywood Community Foundation—argued that firefighters deserved a place among Hollywood’s legends: a permanent symbol of courage carved into the Walk of Fame.

“I know the first-responders aren’t exactly

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