TRINITY, Ala. — One volunteer assistant fire chief in Morgan County is so committed to her community, that where she volunteers is right across the street from where she works.
Keneisha Deas says her name is Kim Owens, and she is this month’s Valley’s First Responder!
Assistant Fire Chief Kim Owens has volunteered for the Trinity Fire Department for 21 years, with more to go.
“I've absolutely loved it. I mean, I grew up here. I still live here. I know just about everybody here. It’s just - don't know, it's just in me. It's something I should do,” said Owens.
Her love for service runs deep. It’s in her lineage. “Earlier my dad was one of the charter members in 1968. So I've been around it my whole life. I mean, he's been our Fire Chief for 52 years. So I don't know that I’ll last 52 years. I started a little older than he did,” she said.
Owens understands the sacrifice this brings. “I'm on call 24/7 because we're volunteer. So I'm not here at the station. Like I'm at home, and leave my home to go on calls 24/7. If I'm in Trinity, I'm on call.”
“You're having a birthday or Christmas or somebody else is in trouble. So you can take that much time out of your day to go help someone and think,” said Owens.
Owens also works full-time at a family business. Thankfully for her, she’s across the street juggling both work and service. “So I’m unfortunate, that, you know, my dad understands because he's going to go on the call also. And so we kind of have a shortage, you know, of EMTs... So we're fortunate that he and I stay in Trinity all day long.”
Camaraderie with other fire departments helps too. “Other guys in the department, we're all family. If one of them is hurtin', we're all hurtin' and we absolutely know anybody has got our back,” she said.
Owens sees the impact of her service to the community. “I mean you could go to a Dollar General and you honestly don’t remember running a call and they’ll come up to you and say ‘Thank you so much for what you did for my grandmother.’
“I plan on staying until they won't let me do it anymore,” said Owens.
Thank you Kim! Do you know someone who could be the next Valley's First Responder?
Nominate them! To do that, find the Valley's First Responder tab at the top of the page.