Firefighters risk their lives to say others. That's what they do, without hesitation.
Sometimes, they also do it while off-duty. It's their nature.
And, that's just what Birmingham Fire Rescue Chief Cory D. Moon did 22 years ago.
The life he saved hit close to home -- literally.
It was his brother, Rodney.
Although Cory was just achieving his lifelong dream to become a firefighter, he told The Birmingham Times he had 'zero hesitation.'
“I had just become a firefighter a year before the kidney transplant, so I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to continue being a firefighter or keep working,” he recalled. “I did not care at all. The only thing that mattered to me was whether my brother would be OK. I didn’t think twice about it.”
Rodney and his mother, however, discussed Cory's donation offer.
“I remember my mom and I pondering how [Cory] would be impacted? Would they sideline him from being able to rappel, carry bodies, and do all the physical things firemen (sic)normally do? That’s the part he loved.
“We got the answer back that he would not be impacted. He would have full duty in the fire department. Before we even got the answer, he was fully committed. … He gave me another higher level of respect for him besides from him being the little brother.”
The brothers discussed what growing up was like for them.
“I remember we had a house across the street from us that had an emergency and the fire department pulled up. … We heard the fire sirens and saw the trucks stop in front of the house. … We were looking out the window and [Cory] said to me, ‘I’m going to be a fireman one day.’ He never chose another profession. He never deviated from those words.”
Cory remembers that day vividly, as well. “That fire happened when I was 10, but I knew I wanted to be firefighter since I was 5. The firefighters actually took time to talk to me after they put out the emergency, and that intrigued me as a young kid. As I got older, that desire just continued to grow. The first job I had was at the Food Fair [supermarket] around the corner from my house in Five Points [area]; it’s now the Birmingham Public Library. It was right across the street from a fire station, so I used to see those guys go in and out when I was 15 and that made [my] desire [to become a firefighter] grow even stronger.”
“I was lucky to have good mentors, [too]. … I stayed focused on who and what I wanted to be, and I was able to achieve my goals,” added Cory, who joined the BFRS in March 2001. He was appointed chief by Mayor Randall Woodfin in October 2019 and sworn in February 2020.
Rodney said he was the recipient of his brother's healthy lifestyle.
“He has never really put anything in his body that will hurt him over time: no steroids, no alcohol, no drug abuse. He was in perfect condition, and the fire department worked them and got them in shape. … [My brother] was in the best shape of his life, and I’m the benefactor of that health.”
The chief added: “The gift of giving somebody life is priceless. There is no downside to saving a life. … Think about the outcome and how you can save someone’s life by simply donating that organ.”
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