When the alarm sounds for the A shift at Rural Metro’s Station 10 on Parkside Drive and the big Tower 210 truck pulls out, Engineer Ozzie Cardenas is the man behind the wheel. In only eight years, this young man of 31 has impressed his peers, the agency’s officers and the chiefs.

Rural Metro’s Station 10 A shift crew: Firefighter of the Year 2024 Engineer Ozzie Cardenas, Lt. Joe Cardio, Capt. Michael Robinson and Engineer Kyle Westrup

On the evening of Dec. 14, 2024, the big crowd at the Marriott Knoxville Downtown stood and applauded as Cardenas was honored as Rural Metro Fire’s 2024 Firefighter of the Year. Making the presentation was Fire Chief Jeff Devlin, who spent two years working with Cardenas at Station 10.

It was an exciting evening for Cardenas and his wife, Rebecca, who was pregnant with their third child and only days away from her due date. It was close. Four days later she delivered their second son, Leon, at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Their oldest is daughter Emily, 6, and their first son Jackson is 3. Cardenas is now on family leave at home, as you can imagine, helping Mom and the three kids, changing diapers and doing all he can with the two older children as they adjust to their new little brother.

We asked Cardenas what Chief Devlin said in making the presentation: “The chief’s pretty cool. We shook hands and he said ‘Congrats Dude. Good job!’”

Today, Devlin adds these thoughts about Cardenas: “…. This honor for Ozzie is well deserved. He’s an up and coming professional for us, very dedicated, locked into whatever the job is and a very mature young man.”

Cardenas was shocked when his name was announced, saying: “I feel like I’ve been honored for just doing my job every day. I love showing up to work every day. I am a perfectionist and keeping my rig clean and spotless and ready to go is very important to me. I do my job well and that’s what I am supposed to do. I get my reports in on time and I’m respectful to everyone I work with and the people we help.”

He made two other comments that also help explain what drives him. “Having never had a brother, just two sisters, I love and treasure the brotherhood we have at Rural Metro. I take pride in everything I do every day.”

Cardenas was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the part of town known as “Mini Koreatown” or just Koreatown. It is west of downtown Los Angeles and south of Hollywood. It is regarded as one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Los Angeles. “I had a great childhood and loved it,” he says. “It’s pretty close to where the fires are now.”

The Cardenas family – father Waldo, mother Doris, and sisters Gloria and Belky – moved to Knoxville when he was 12 to be closer to the rest of the family here. He graduated from Powell High School in 2011, and between high school and Rural Metro, he worked at Shawmut Design and Construction and Clancy Custom Woodworking, where his father worked as well.

His captain at Station 10, Mike Robinson, nominated Cardenas for this recognition. Robinson uses these words to describe Cardenas:

  • Incredible daily work ethic
  • His overall command presence
  • Always a team player who steps up and takes charge and he knows when to take charge

And he adds: “When you lead by example, people follow and they follow him.”

Of all of the calls he’s responded to in eight years, there is one that he can’t forget and says he never will. “The alarm came in for the possible drowning of a young child in the Cedar Bluff area and we ran it,” he recalls. “I was the first one there to put hands on the kid. It was a little boy, 2 years old. He had been left with his father and he managed to get out to their swimming pool.”

It had been raining and the pool cover was on and in the middle was a pool of rainwater. “The little guy had crawled on to the cover and either fell or walked into the pool of water and he couldn’t get out. When we got there, someone had gotten him out and laid him on a table. No one knew how long he had been in the water but when I started working on him, he was very, very cold. I did CPR until the ambulance crew arrived and could not get a pulse at all, nothing. The paramedics worked on him all the way to the hospital and the little guy never came around. We lost that fight.”

Cardenas says it really hit him hard. “My son Jackson was the same age when this happened. It’s so sobering. This happened because no one was paying attention. And if you’re not paying attention to little kids these things can and do happen. I still think about this one a lot.”

Capt. Robinson shares more about his Firefighter of the Year: “Ozzie started with me as the third man on Engine 210 eight years ago and he was an apprentice, learning his way. From the start, he’s always wanted to be better. When he’s not cooking at the station, he’s doing the dishes and cleaning it up. He’s like that about Tower 210 as well. He keeps it spotless and makes sure everything is in order and that it’s ready to roll.”

One more fact to consider: The crews at Station 10 respond to every fire call in West Knoxville on every shift and that’s a load of calls, daily. “It takes a lot of experience and expertise to manage the tower truck. We don’t just put anyone on the tower. They have to be the best of the best and that’s Ozzie.”

Tom King has been the editor of newspapers in Texas and California and also worked in Tennessee and Georgia. If you have someone you think we should consider featuring, please email him at the link with his name or text him at 865-659-3562.

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