Driver Paul Kersey

My father was Paul Kersey, and l have many good memories of my dad's time with the Greensboro Fire Department. He was 26 and married with two kids, when he joined the fire department in 1956. He was a veteran of the Korean War, and a licensed pilot.
 
Many fire department friends knew that Dad was an avid coffee drinker. Since his days in Korea, he hated cold weather. There was a story that the thermostats, in every station where he worked, had to be locked because he was constantly cranking up the heat.
He first served at Station 8 on Lee Street. Dad served on Engine 8, 6, 11 and Twelve. He also served on Truck 4, when it was stationed at Station Four. He was a driver for most of his career, and he was very proud to be a firefighter. I have good memories as a kid, visiting him wherever he was stationed. But, my best memories are of the times he came to ride with us on his days off, when l was on EMS.
 
In 1959, during a lumber yard fire, my father was taken to the hospital, due to heat stroke and smoke inhalation. He retired on medical disability in 1979, and died of Emphysema in 2002. The Greensboro Fire Department Honor Guard stood for my father on the day of his funeral.
 
by: Mike Kersey