KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A firefighter who was injured in a 2007 warehouse fire became a firefighter again at a special graduation ceremony Wednesday night.
WATE reported that Jeff Kindrick was looking for a few of his fellow firefighters who were in the building when he had to jump from the third floor. One of the walls collapsed on him after he jumped.
He was left with a broken back and took a job in the nuclear industry. He said his recovery was hard, but knew he’d return to firefighting.
“This is my family, the department is my home and in a larger sense, Knoxville, East Tennessee is my home. I don’t belong anywhere else,” Kindrick said.
According to policy, he had to prove he was ready by going through a 16-week academy again.
“All of his certifications, as long as he kept them current, which I believe he did, but we require no matter how much experience you have we always require you to go through out academy. We just feel that’s the proper thing to do,” Deputy Chief Mark Morris said.
Kindrick will start back at the department on Sunday.