Father-son duo is first in Yuba City Fire Department history
YUBA CITY — A new father-son duo at the Yuba City Fire Department is its first in history.
"I finally asked him and he admitted that he was going through the process. But he said 'Dad, I don't want your help. I don't want you to tell anybody. I want to do this on my own,' " Fire Captain Kevin Kennedy said.
Captain Kennedy has been on the job for 22 years, and for the last three months, he's been working with his son, Chase.
"It's pretty surreal. I've seen him work before and he knows that I've been in the fire service before, but to be together working in the same department, it is really, really cool," said firefighter 1 Chase Kennedy.
Chase even has an older brother who works as a firefighter in Sacramento. Chase said he knew he wanted to be a firefighter from as early on as he can remember. His dad served as an inspiration.
"At a young age, he started saying he wanted to be a firefighter. But, you know, all kids say they want to be this or they want to be that. But as he got older, he continued to repeat that mantra that this is what he was going to do," Captain Kennedy said.
"I don't think I knew what that meant when I was a little kid but growing up, it still aligned really well with my values and what I like to do. And it's my dream job," Chase said.
Per city guidelines, they can't always work directly together, but their paths do cross quite often.
"Working in this department was my goal, and I've looked up to my dad a lot. So to reach this spot, it's just very meaningful to me," Chase said.
"I'm glad I was able to still be around and on the job to see this happen," Capt. Kennedy said. "I'm getting close to the end of my career. My time here is going to continue through him and he'll get to carry on that legacy here with Yuba City."
