To me a hero is someone who risks their life for others who are unrelated and for no personal gain. Thus a mother throwing herself into the raging waters to save her child is not a hero, but if she throws herself in to save someone else's child, she is. Any volunteer firefighter is. I'm not sure about a paid firefighter... are they doing it for the money, in which case, no they aren't, but if they're doing it for the sake of the humans they rescue, they are?

Living in the South, I can tell you that a hero ain't the same thing as a po'boy.