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Volunteer spotlight: Jerry Kozak
Photo and story by Chris Fitzgerald
KP News
Jerry
Kozak moved to Home over two years ago, 16 years after
he fled Poland behind the Berlin Wall. “I ran away from
Communism,” he says quietly. “I wanted freedom.”
That long,
dangerous journey brought him to the East Coast. Shortly
thereafter, while visiting friends in Washington, he
discovered the trees and rolling hills reminiscent of
Poland; he was comfortable here.
Photo by Chris
Fitzgerald |
“I’m still
learning new words,” he says. “When I lived on the East
Coast, accents were difficult.”
He knows
people listen close, weaving through his Polish accent;
he speaks thoughtfully, choosing words with care.
Soon after
moving, he saw an ad for firefighter volunteers. A
professional firefighter in a large Polish city many
years ago, he “was surely missing the fire service.”
Forty
years old, and keenly aware he was both “an outsider and
a foreigner,” he decided, “I’m going to try.” He passed
rigorous testing, becoming a volunteer at Station 3 in
Home in August 2004. Living close to the station, he
serves his adopted community when his pager sounds. This
year, he has participated in every fire except one.
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Do you
know a
worthy volunteer
who has been doing great work for
the Key Peninsula community?
Please let us know so we can
consider this person for our ongoing
Volunteer Spotlight feature.
Please email
news@keypennews.com
or call 884-4699; include your phone
numner in case we need more details. |
Kozak has
owned an auto repair shop in Federal Way for many years.
Briefly, he commuted from Sequim after their Twin Lakes
house quickly sold. That was before he saw an online ad
for their residence in Home, a place he had never heard
of. Here on the peninsula, he and his wife, Paula, fell
in love with a fixer on eight wooded acres of quiet and
birdsong. They are “never going to move from that
house,” he says.
“Firefighting is serious business. We are lucky to have
good officers in our department who know what they’re
doing. Confidence in the eyes of another — 100 percent
— to do the task (is necessary)” he says. “If you have
the heart, and want to do this, (there is a place for
more volunteers).”
Fire
District 16 Division Chief Chuck West says, “Jerry has
definitely made an impression on us. Everybody’s
impressed with his abilities — although he’s kind of
hard to understand… He’s definitely on our current
hiring list.”
Kozak
says, “For everybody — I appreciate the warm welcome
when we moved here. I’d like to say thank you to
everyone.”
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