Daughter Follows in OH Firefighter-Father's Footsteps

Nov. 20, 2023
Kendra Borum used to visit her father at Toledo Fire and Rescue and now she's on the job she desired since she was five.

Years after Kevin Gordon brought his daughter to his Toledo firehouse, she entered her journey to follow his career path and become a second-generation firefighter.

"He took me on a take-your-daughter workday and from that moment I was sold," Kendra Borum told WTOL.com, recalling that day from when she was just five years old. "I was in the tower with them. I'm watching them run up and down and they had all their gear on, their high fiving me as they're passing me, and from that moment, that was it."

Last week, Borum was sworn in as a firefighter with Toledo Fire and Rescue Department, where her father served for more than 25 years. 

"She grew up in the fire station," Gordon said. "The fire life is all she knows. She fell in love with the department."

"There are no words to describe how proud I was of her," Gordon added. 

Borum's 7-year-old daughter said she wants to be a firefighter, too.

"I have big shoes to fill," said Borum. "My dad is a great man and knowing what he did for the department and this city and making things better for everybody I know I have big shoes to fill, and I know I'm ready for it."

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