By FireRescue1 Staff
CHURCHVILLE, N.Y. ― A woman who was saved by firefighters from her abusive husband became one herself nearly five years later.
13 WHAM reported that Jerri Sparks’ nightmare began on a trip home from Cape Cod in 2011.
“My ex-husband swerved in and out of traffic and said, ‘Do you want me to kill us all?’” Sparks said. “That was the beginning of me knowing I was in trouble.”
Sparks said she didn’t reach out for support because it had not yet gotten physical, until July 5, 2012.
“I was punched in the face, my head was slammed over a chair and I was choked until I lost consciousness,” Sparks said. “I could see blood spurting out of my nose.”
A Churchville Fire Department firefighter was there with a neighbor when Sparks ran; firefighters made six trips at 3 a.m. to put Sparks and her children into a safe home.
Nearly five years later, Sparks became a firefighter herself at the same department.
“These are people who are giving back, and these are people who are making a difference in the world, and I want to be a part of that,” Sparks said. “For me, it was peace through action, and I didn’t want what happened to me and my children to define us. I didn’t want it to stop us.”