Retired Kent firefighter looks back on career, both on land and in the water

When he was just months away from the end of his career as a Kent firefighter, Paul Bevere had an experience with a middle-aged Kent man having a heart attack that really brought home the purpose of his job.

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"It was probably six months ago, me and two other guys were on a gentleman with chest pain and he arrested right in front of us," Bevere recalled. "We brought him back, he arrested again, we brought him back again. And he's alive to this day. He's come to the fire station multiple times to come and thank us, which is really nice. It's a good feeling.

"He has a wife and kids and he's still doing good."

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Bevere retired April 2 after more than 30 years with the fire department and as a founding member of the Portage County Water Rescue Team.

"Kent's the only fire department that I've been on," he said.

His journey to his career actually began more than 40 years ago.

'One thing led to another'

In the late 1970s, Bevere was a student at the University of Akron when he decided to take a summer job as a lifeguard. Training for the job included a water safety instructor class.

"The gentleman teaching that was a Coventry fireman and just started talking and everything and one thing led to another," said Bevere

Because the lifeguard job was at a lake, Bevere was also required to train in scuba diving, a skill that would come in especially handy later.

Bevere was certified as an emergency medical technician in 1982 and as a paramedic in 1985 and during this time, was working for a private ambulance service.

Also in 1985, he took a job in the burn unit at Akron Children's Hospital, where he still works as a burn technician.

"I do tubs and dressings at the burn center, and patient care," he said.

Bevere started working at the Kent Fire Department on Jan. 29, 1990.

A long career

Bevere immediately started with a literal trial by fire.

"My first shift, we had in the middle of the night a big barn fire in Franklin Township," he said. "I believe a couple of horses died."

A couple of other memorable fires included "a good sized industrial fire" in Ravenna's Riddle Block in the 1990s to which Kent provided mutual aid to and at the former Star of the West mill complex in downtown Kent just this past December.

During his time with the Kent Fire Department, Bevere served on the Portage County Urban Search and Rescue Team, which is called out for structural collapses and other "confined space stuff," as well as area searches for missing persons and assistance with water rescue team and Portage County Hazardous Materials Team operations.

In addition to helping to save lives, Bevere has also helped bring new life into the world.

"I delivered seven babies," he said, adding that the first was around 1992.

"It's stressful because you want everything, everything, to go right," he said. "You know, just try and calm down mom. Mom does most of the work. You're just there assisting and making sure, you know, the baby and the mom are okay."

And throughout his time with the fire department, he has put his lifeguard training, including diving, to use.

Saving lives and bringing closure

In the 1990s, the Kent Fire Department had its own dive team, but it became clear by 2001 that something had to change.

"We were getting called to other areas of the county and it was just Kent couldn't do it all," he said.

The department contacted other fire departments around the county and that year, the Portage County Water Rescue Team was formed, with the team now made up of members from fire departments countywide. Some are divers, others are shore support personnel.

Bevere was a founding member and he remained active until his retirement.

"I was primarily the boat operator for, like, the river rescues in Kent and so we would go up," he said. "When people go down the river in kayaks and the river's really flowing, they get stuck in the strainer, stuck on the island. Then we'd have to go up and rescue them. Multiple times, I was the family liaison for the dive teams. So you would be the one that would be talking to the family as the divers are going down looking for their loved ones. You'd be the one that would be talking to them and trying to give them information and calm them down and I've done that."

Sometimes rescues are successful, sometimes not. He recalled one time when another diver pulled someone out of the water who appeared deceased but was able to revive the person.

Bevere said the difference between a rescue and the recovery of a body often depends on the victim.

"Whether they're a young kid, whether they're an older person, it depends on if there's been drinking involved, it depends on how cold the water is, depends on how long they've been under the water. I mean, there's just so many variables," he said.

Even when a person has died, there is still a point to recovering the victim.

"I have found, as a diver, I have found somebody's loved one, but they were already deceased," he said. "You know, they already drowned. But then, finding them and bringing them to them, that's like closure, closure for that family."

A busy retirement

Because he is no longer affiliated with a Portage County fire department, Bevere is no longer able to serve on the water rescue team.

He said he has considered taking a part-time job with a fire department, which would allow him to return to the team, but he is already busy in his retirement.

Beside his job with Akron Children's Hospital, he is also enjoying playing more golf, riding his motorcycle and just spending time with family.

He also looks forward to traveling with his wife, Mary, with whom he has a son, Adam, 35, and a daughter, Alexandria, 33. The couple have been to South Carolina, Jamaica, Cancun and on a couple of cruises.

When asked about his career, Bevere expressed gratitude.

"The city of Kent treated me very well," said Bevere. "The fire department was a great place to work. The guys are a great group of guys. I mean, primarily they're your brothers. You spend at least a 30-year life with them. And I worked at the fire department more than half of my life, so I've got a lot of great friends, a lot of great brothers. If I need help with anything, they would help me in a heartbeat and vice versa."

Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Kent firefighter looks back on career, both on land and in the water