The Los Angeles Fire Department CERT Program is proud to announce Kevin Kong as the August LAFD CERT Spotlight.
Kevin Chang-Kyu Kong hails from Seoul, South Korea where his career as an optometrist spanned 20 years. He immigrated to American 1991, and in 2000 became a US Citizen. Kevin Kong’s volunteer spirit drew him to associate with the Pacific American Volunteer Association (PAVA) in Koreatown. Through them he learned of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) sponsored by the Los Angeles Fire Department. He availed himself of the training in 2010 and hit the ground running! Wherever you findLAFD CERT, you will find Kevin Kong. He is one of our most active volunteers offering his services wherever needed whenever called upon. He participates in every training he can to keep his skills proficient and regardless of the distance, travels across Los Angeles to participate in community functions.
Kevin serves in the LAFD geographic area of Battalion 11 (Echo Park, Silver Lake, Westlake, MacArthur Park, Wilshire Center, Hancock Park, Angeleno Heights, Rampart Village, Filipinotown, Pico Union, Koreatown, University Village/USC Campus, Olympic Park and # West Adams) as a member of our elite LAFD CERT Call-Out Team within LAFD Central Bureau. He has become an integral part in keeping our Koreatown neighbors prepared for emergencies and connected with CERT trainings. Kevin’s commitment to serving has made a tremendous impact in LAFD CERT operations for such events as the Taste of Soul, Mandeville Canyon Evacuation Exercise, and our recent Fire Service Day to name a few. As an amateur radio operator (KJ6QVU) Kevin is ready to assist the Korean community with emergency communications at a moments notice. Kevin’s selfless dedication to his community has not gone unnoticed however. He is the recipient of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for eight consecutive years and in 2019 for lifetime achievement!
We so proud to have Kevin Kong among our ranks and we sincerely thank him for being such an enormous asset to his community and to the Los Angeles Fire Department CERT Program.
