Local Security Officer Awarded Scholarship for Saving Firefighter

Shown is JFRD Chief Keith Powers offering Davay Kinsey (also in inset) a spot in the fire academy.
Shown is JFRD Chief Keith Powers offering Davay Kinsey (also in inset) a spot in the fire academy.

Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) welcomed community and local leaders to the Fire Academy of the South, located at FSCJ’s South Campus, last week to name the first-ever recipient of the President’s Heroism Award.

In October, UF Health Security Officer Davay Kinsey acted quickly and heroically to aid two local firefighters who were assaulted by a patient they were called to help. She played a critical role that day in saving a life and, in response to her bravery, the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department, City of Jacksonville and UF Health joined forces with FSCJ to honor her life-saving actions.

A patient attacked JFRD Capt. Latorrence Norris inside an ambulance, stabbing him repeatedly with a box cutter. A second firefighter was hurt trying to help.

Seeing how bad his injuries were, Kinsey loaded Capt. Norris onto a golf cart and took him straight to the trauma unit.

“These guys, they place their life on the line every day. I was just a little small piece of the puzzle that night,” Kinsey said.

“As a community, we all worked together to identify a way that we could appropriately thank Officer Kinsey, said College President John Avendano, Ph.D. What better way to do that than to help her achieve her own personal and professional goals? FSCJ is proud to play a part in helping Davay realize her true calling as a Fire Fighter for our community.”

Davay Kinsey

Through the support of the FSCJ Foundation’s Power of Possible scholarship fund, the College is working to help Officer Kinsey’s lifelong dream of becoming a firefighter become a reality. She will receive financial support that will cover the full amount of her tuition, books and fees as she enters the Fire Academy in January 2020.

“When this is all said and done, and I’m wearing one of those uniforms, it’s going to be something… I’ll be able to pay it forward,” Kinsey said.

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