WOKV: Jacksonville security officer awarded scholarship for saving firefighter

Link to article https://www.wokv.com/news/local/jacksonville-security-officer-awarded-scholarship-for-saving-firefighter/RrlyOmqMjDjdujbKk0ViiJ/

Jacksonville, FL -  The woman credited with saving the life of a Jacksonville fire captain is now on the road to becoming a firefighter.

Video shows the moment JFRD Chief Keith Powers offered Davay Kinsey a spot in the fire academy. 

“He was thanking me for my courage and strength to do what I did that night for Capt. Norris, and out of nowhere he was like, ‘Hey, I got an offer for you. Have you ever thought of being a JFRD member?’” 

 Kinsey, an Air Force veteran, was working security at UF Health Jacksonville in October when two firefighters pulled up, one of them badly hurt. 

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. 

On Monday, Kinsey stood next to city leaders in tears. To celebrate her heroism, she was gifted a scholarship to FSCJ’s fire academy. 

Her tuition, books and fees are covered thanks to JFRD, FSCJ and UF Health Jacksonville. 

Chief Powers said the courage she showed back in October is just one reason she’ll make a great firefighter. 

“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. 

She told Action News Jax she always wanted to be a firefighter but she put her family first after 12 years in the military. Now that her son is an adult, she says she's ready for this new journey. 

She’s expected to start school in January.