Proactive KDFR events are saving lives

Members of the Kinston Department of Fire and Rescue pose after completing a car seat safety course. Photo courtesy of Damien Locklear / Kinston Department of Fire and Rescue

Proactive safety programs implemented by the Kinston Department of Fire and Rescue paid dividends in two separate incidents last week.

KDFR Chief Damien Locklear said a focus of his since he assumed his position has been on programs that work proactively to improve the safety of the community. 

The department has been working for months toward certification from the North Carolina Office of the State Fire Marshal for performing car seat checks. 

As part of that certification, more than a dozen KDFR firefighters participated in rigorous training designed to teach them how to help caregivers install car seats correctly. 

According to KDFR Fire Control Specialist II Stephen Tyndall, “The goal of this training is for the child to leave the check safer than they arrived.” 

Last Thursday, Locklear said the department held a car seat check event at Walmart in Kinston as a graduation celebration and performed checks on dozens of seats.

They could not have known their training would be put to the test the very next day. 

Tyndall said he was called to a serious three-vehicle accident at the intersection of Carey Road and Brookhaven Drive Friday afternoon. 

One of the drivers involved was a young mother who, Tyndall said, thanked him for what they had done for her. She had come through the car seat check the day before, and firefighters had installed the correct seat for her child.

Though the KDFR could not release her name for privacy reasons, Tyndall said she had two children in the car at the time of the accident, and neither was injured. 

Locklear said hearing the news gave him an incredible feeling.

“We wouldn’t wish for something like this to happen to anyone, but to have just finished something we’ve been working to have in place for several months, and then the very next day to find out that we provided a service that really helped to improve the safety of a child was huge,” Locklear said. 

Another program Locklear has focused on since his tenure as chief began is smoke detector testing and installation. 

Friday afternoon, the KDFR also responded to a structure fire on Tower Hill Road in Kinston. The smoke alarms that alerted the residents to the fire and helped prevent any serious injuries, had, it turned out, been installed by the KDFR when firefighters responding to a previous call at the structure noticed they were needed. 

Locklear said he hopes to begin offering regular car seat checks by appointment at all three Kinston fire stations once they receive final certification from the state in the next few weeks. 

Even while waiting for the certification, Locklear said anyone concerned about their child’s car seat can call the administration office at 252-939-3164 to schedule a check. The department also offers smoke detector checks that can be arranged by calling the same number.