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New Greencastle firefighter follows family tradition

Tuesday, August 6, 2024 at 9:00 PM

By Paul Gable

Kerr said serving people is the main motivator he has for being a firefighter. 

For Stephen Kerr, being a firefighter is all he has ever wanted to do since watching his father and grandfather fight fires as a child. 

"Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to be a firefighter. My dad started off as a volunteer at Sugar Creek in West Terre Haute and I got the bug when I had the opportunity to watch my dad and grandpa make a push into a house. There's a picture and video of that exact moment happening somewhere, and I am three or four years old standing on the block getting to watch all that unfold and it was at that moment where I was like, "oh yeah, this has got to be my future career." That's where it all started," Kerr told The Putnam County Post. 

That memory, combined with growing up in and around fire stations only further cemented the fact that Kerr would follow in his father's footsteps. 

"There was always a draw. You get to hang out with your best friends. You get to serve your community and you get to be there on people's worst days and help them out. It is definitely something I always desired," Kerr said. 

Kerr said serving people is the main motivator he has for being a firefighter. 

"I feel like I am making a difference by being able to help someone. Having that service mindset has given me a lot of motivation to better myself. 

With his father serving as a firefighter for the Indianapolis Fire Department, Kerr got his start in Cloverdale. 

"I did a lot of ride outs in my high school era and got a feel for what the job required. After I moved out of my parent's house to Cloverdale, I found out they had a volunteer department and figured what better way to make sure this is the career I wanted than to actually do it. Being a volunteer was one of those things that was like a checkmark that I wanted to do this full-time," said Kerr, who was with Cloverdale for two-and-a-half years. 

While Kerr is still in his probation period and at his own fire house, he admits he he shares stories with his father, who still offers advice from time to time. 

"He tells me to really plug in and learn a lot. He's been the most encouraging in the pursuit of being on the fire department here. He has been helpful and helped me be an asset to the team here," Kerr said. 

As he embarks on his new career, Kerr said there is nowhere else he would want to be.

"I think it is an awesome department. It is a very young department and has a lot of go-getters. Our senior guys are young too and having a young department, it seems like there is a lot of motivation for progression. Chief Rob has done an incredible job incorporating the team aspect as a whole and it has been a great experience being a part of," Kerr said. 

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