- May 6, 2024
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Palm Coast Fire Department Lt. Joseph Fajardo was a restaurant chef for more than 12 years. Now he cooks for his crew at Flagler County Fire Rescue Station 92, near the airport.
Fajardo leads a crew of three on their engine. He is also the department’s Community Engagement Officer, teaches CPR to community members and runs the department’s Junior Firefighters program.
Joe makes a difference in the safety of Palm Coast both today and for generations to come with his efforts. We are exceptionally proud of Joe.”
— KYLE BERRYHILL, Palm Coast Fire Chief
In nominating Fajardo for a Standing O, Palm Coast Fire Chief Kyle Berryhill said, “Joe founded and remains an active mentor to the Palm Coast Junior Firefighters, leads the department’s public education effort to bring a fire safety message to every elementary school student and manages our CPR outreach program in addition to being a great dad and partner at home. Joe makes a difference in the safety of Palm Coast both today and for generations to come with his efforts. We are exceptionally proud of Joe.”
Fajardo said he became a firefighter on a whim. In 2015, he was working at a restaurant in Orlando and attending culinary school. He was headed to class one day when he got stuck in traffic behind a fender bender. He was impressed by how well coordinated the EMTs performed their jobs.
“They knew what their partner was thinking before they did it,” he said. “Something just clicked in my brain. I said I should be doing that, because I'd already been working through the ranks of the restaurants, and it became very monotonous. It got to a point where it was more paperwork than actually cooking. It wasn't as fun as I thought it was going to be, whereas I have fun every day here.”
He enrolled at Daytona State College for EMT and firefighter training. On July 1, 2016, he was hired by the Palm Coast Fire Department.
“This was my first interview. They took me right in. So it was meant to be,” he said.
As PCFD’s Community Engagement Officer, Fajardo and his team of firefighters go to elementary schools and schedule community events to teach fire safety. During Fire Prevention Month in October, Fajardo tries to reach every elementary school student.
This year, we educated almost 10,000 kids, which is amazing.”
— LT. JOSEPH FAJARDO
“This year, we educated almost 10,000 kids, which is amazing,” he said.
They get lots of positive reviews from teachers and community members, he said, but the most gratifying story came from a child who helped lead his family to safety when their house caught on fire.
“He got his entire family out because of what we taught him,” Fajardo said. “The smoke detectors went off and he just did what we told him to do, step by step.”
The firefighters teach the kids to develop a fire escape plan for their families and they practice it just like a fire drill at school, Fajardo said.
“If the smoke detectors go off, without overthinking the situation, they coordinate and exit at a meeting spot,” he said. “So when we show up we have one location that we can talk to them and make sure that everybody's out of the house where we can hopefully just put out the fire and not have to go in and pull people out.”
The Junior Firefighters Program is for teenagers. They meet at Palm Coast Station 25 once a week and train one Saturday a month at the Wadsworth Fire Tower in Bunnell.
The program is only three years old, but a few former Junior Firefighters are now in the department’s intern program which provides a path to career firefighter positions, Fajardo said.
Fajardo has always liked teaching. Training the next generation became more important to him, he said, after his daughter was born in 2018. He now has three children.
Fajardo has two families, one at home, and one at Station 92, which is the only county station occupied by a Palm Coast engine. Along with Fajardo, the crew includes a driver and a paramedic/firefighter. There is also a Flagler County Fire Rescue ambulance at the station that responds to calls with the Palm Coast engine.
Driver Chris Cottle said Fajardo is always smiling and happy.
“He lights up the room when he walks in, “Cottle said. “So when you’re down and tired when you come back from a call, you get to make jokes, and he just smiles.”
“You need a little bit of craziness in your mind to be able to do what we do,” Fajardo said. “There’s a joke that even the rats run out of burning buildings, but we run in. The most rewarding part for me is knowing that I'm able to get these guys home every morning. I'm going to do everything I can to not only protect the citizens, but I want to protect my crew. Being here at the (station’s) kitchen table is my favorite part, because we get to sit down as a family, eat dinner, and we all talk and laugh.”
