Laura Walker fondly remembers her father regaling her with stories about fighting fires in Dix Hills.
“I always grew up with him going to a fire or a rescue call. He loved the fire department. That was his absolute love,” said Walker, daughter of Fred Kuhne, a founding member of the Dix Hills Fire Department. Kuhne died Dec. 20 at the age of 88 after years of battling health complications.
He was the last surviving charter member of the original 40 residents who founded the volunteer fire department in Dix Hills in 1947.
Walker, 62 of Orlando, Fla., said through tears, her dad’s dedication to fighting fires propelled her to a profession that also helps people. “When we were kids, he would come home from a fire call, a rescue call, and he would tell us stuff about it. And I would think, ‘That’s really cool, he saved someone’s life.’ I want to do that and that’s why I became a nurse,” she said.