If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?

“It would be a combination of gasoline from a motorcycle and catfish bait. I spent a lot of my childhood in Adamsville, Tennessee. I had some friends that had motorcycles and go-karts and we did, too. We rode a lot and we liked to fish. Anybody that has ever catfished knows that that’s a distinct smell: catfish bait. We moved from Alabama to Tennessee and back to Alabama. That led to a lifetime passion for fishing. We bass fish now. My daughter tournament fishes. Her and her fishing partner, they are the first girls to be on their fishing team at their school.” – Calera Fire Chief Sean Kendrick.

Kendrick moved to Calera to be the fire chief about 12 years ago. His passion for public safety started when he was a junior in high school in Jemison.

“One of the members of our church was the fire chief at the local volunteer fire department. They invited me to a meeting, and I was hooked from Day One. I worked my way through college as a paramedic and a firefighter and I was a medic in the Army. I’m still doing what I love doing. One is the ability to help people during tough times, but also the family bond that’s in the fire service. I don’t think anything else compares to it.”

Calera Fire Chief Sean Kendrick said if his childhood had a smell, it would be gasoline and catfish bait. (Tamika Moore / People of Alabama)

Working in public safety has taught him an important lesson.

“Don’t take any moment for granted because life can be short. We realize that in public safety. So many occasions, we’ve seen lives end tragically and without warning when there wasn’t time to say goodbye. While we are alive, we need to enjoy God’s gift to us.”

These are the faces and stories of people from all walks of life who call Alabama home. People of Alabama is a Red Clay Media and Alabama NewsCenter partnership.