Photo By Shannon Moeck | Ken Kajihiro stands in front of a fire truck after earning his certification from the...... read more read more
For Ken Kajihiro, the decision to become a volunteer firefighter was not a spur-of-the-moment choice. It was something he had been thinking about for years, an extension of his lifelong commitment to service.
“I wanted to do it for a long time,” said Kajihiro. “After I got out of the military, I missed that sense of service, and I really enjoy giving back to the community I live in.”
Kajihiro, a former U.S. Marine who served in Afghanistan and Japan, now works full-time as an attorney for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Middle East District. Balancing a demanding legal career while completing the rigorous training to become a certified firefighter has been no small feat.
“Before law school, after law school, and starting my legal career, there was just no time,” Kajihiro said. “But once things settled down a little bit, I knew I had to make time for volunteering.”
Kajihiro volunteers with the Shawnee Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department in the City of Winchester, Virginia. On April 17, 2025, he graduated from the joint Frederick County and Winchester City Basic Fire Academy.
“The academy runs from August to April if you do Firefighter I, Firefighter II, and Firefighter Rescue and Survival,” Kajihiro explained. “Classes are held on Monday and Wednesday evenings for three and a half hours, with additional eight-hour sessions on Saturdays. It’s a big-time commitment, but it’s worth it.”
Volunteers have different types of responsibilities. Some perform administrative tasks, while others, like Kajihiro, choose operational roles that put them on the front lines.
“To go interior on a structure fire, you must be certified,” he said. “That’s why I pushed myself to complete Firefighter I and continue to Firefighter II, which allows you to lead hose and search and rescue teams.”
He said search and rescue are among the job aspects that resonate most deeply with his military experience.
“You’re going in to try to save someone. To make sure others are safe. It’s a very mission-driven mindset, and that really speaks to me.” Continuing, he explained that during the academy, the instructors emphasized the importance of gearing and masking up quickly because “it’s not your time you’re taking – it’s theirs.”
Even before completing his certification, Kajihiro had already responded to calls as an exterior firefighter. One of his first experiences was responding to a dumpster fire on New Year’s Eve.
“I had no idea what time it was,” Kajihiro recalled with a laugh. “The tones went off, we jumped out of bed, we geared up, and we hopped on our fire engine. After putting the fire out, I was up on top of the engine, repacking the hoses. Suddenly, fireworks started going off all around us. I asked what time it was and someone said, ‘It’s midnight.’ That’s how I rang in the New Year.”
Typically, Kajihiro volunteers overnight shifts at the station, balancing his commitment with his work schedule. At times, he has logged up to 40 volunteer hours a week.
“Sometimes I show up to work the next morning pretty tired,” he admitted. “But it’s worth it.”
For Kajihiro, volunteer firefighting has filled a gap he felt after leaving the military.
“It’s the camaraderie, the teamwork, the shared mission. That’s something I missed,” he said. “You’re all in it for the same reason, and you rely on each other.”
When asked what advice he would give to others thinking about volunteering or finding their own way to give back, Kajihiro was direct, “If you have the time, just do it. Not everyone does, and if you can fill that space, it makes a difference.”
Since his primary role with the Middle East District focuses on supporting USACE’s efforts to build defense infrastructure for the U.S. military and allied nation partners in the Middle East, Kajihiro values the chance volunteering gives him to serve closer to home. He’s pursuing his EMT certification and hopes to one day use those skills in his local community and as part of USACE’s emergency response teams worldwide.
For now, he’s focused on giving back to the community where he lives and works.
“I live here, I work here,” he said. “This is my way of directly helping the people around me.”
| Date Taken: | 04.23.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.23.2025 14:38 |
| Story ID: | 495996 |
| Location: | WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 9 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, From Marine to Firefighter: Ken Kajihiro’s Commitment to Service, by Shannon Moeck, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
