The Mobile Fire-Rescue Department proudly recognizes Firefighter Kearyon Chestang as the Firefighter of the Month for February 2024. Chestang joined the department in 2022 and currently serves as a B Shift firefighter for Engine 12 at Crichton Station.

Chestang said he appreciates being able to make a positive difference in peoples’ lives. “I feel like all the calls that we go on are rewarding,” he said. “You see that you’re just making a difference in someone’s life, someone’s having a bad day and you’re there to help them make it better. It’s a rewarding feeling.”

His supervisor, Captain Mike Allen, describes him as someone who is willing to work hard with a positive attitude and who shows initiative to solve problems on his own. “He’s just going to go to work,” Allen said.

For example, last month, Engine 12 was dispatched for a person down call not far from the station. When they arrived, they found a person in a wheelchair on the hill under the railroad track overpass. There was no medical emergency, but his electric wheelchair was out of power and wouldn’t go.

Chestang and the team formulated a plan together: Push the wheelchair the remaining mile to the man’s house. “[Chestang] just smiled and said, ‘Sweet,’” Allen said. The Engine 12 crew that teamed up to make that push was rewarded with pizza when they arrived at the house.

Chestang said, “Sometimes, just going that little extra mile is all it takes to help somebody out and make their day.”