Shaun Donovan is a former Navy SEAL who was recently rejected by the FDNY for being six months and 25 days too old even though he scored in the top 1 percentile on the latest FDNY entry exam and passed the physical fitness test. While he was devastated at first, things have since turned around for Donovan as he has since been flooded with dozens of offers from fire departments from all over the country.

Donovan was one of the most qualified people to apply for the FDNY, but was just over 35, which is the maximum age for a military veteran to enter the FDNY. Donovan is still fighting to join the FDNY, but he is grateful for the support he has received from other parts of the country.

“If the hiring process that Shaun is going through is not going to honor his service and recognize his capability, I want him to know that we will,” said Greg Pixley, the Denver Fire Department’s head recruiter and a fellow veteran. “That’s the kind of person we want.”

Pixley went on to say that the Denver Fire Department has a minimum age of 21 requirement to apply, but they have no maximum age.

“We believe that if someone has the physical and mental prowess to perform the job, they should be given the respect and the opportunity to be a firefighter,” he said, adding that his fire department once even hired a 60 year-old.

Donovan also has an offer from the San Francisco Fire Department.

“Tell him to apply to our fire department,” said SFFD spokesman Jonathan Baxter. “We’ve had individuals in their 50s go through our fire academy, which is very extensive and difficult, both physically and mentally.”

Donovan first became a SEAL in 2005, and he went on to serve four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning multiple medals of valor along the way. With his time in the military set to end in 2020, Donovan wanted to join the FDNY to protect the city that lost 343 firefighters on 9/11.

Now 37, Donovan is appealing FDNY’s disqualification to the city’s Civil Service Commission, with a decision likely to come in this summer. His lawyer Kevin Carroll, who is representing him pro bono, said that while Donovan is grateful for the offers, “he is committed to his goal of joining the FDNY.”