Those Who Keep Us Safe: Daryl Carson – Fire Captain, Coroner, RN

VICKSBURG, Miss. – Daryl Carson wears many hats in his service to the Vicksburg community: Fire Captain, Registered Nurse, Paramedic, and Coroner.

Hailing from Utica, MS, Carson has been with the Vicksburg Fire Department for nearly 25 years. His initial interest in being a firefighter was sparked by his cousin, Carl Carson, a local Battalion Chief.

Not long after joining the Vicksburg Fire Department, he was given the opportunity to expand his education into the EMT side of first responders due to a shortage of paramedics.

“Chief was like, ‘We’re gonna start sending guys here to paramedic school.’ So my thought is, I’m offered free education? Oh yeah I’m jumping on that,” said Carson.

Incredible Commitment

Early on in his career, Carson realized the incredible commitment being a first responder entails.

“I had only been here [at the fire department] maybe a year, year and a half, and that’s when 9/11 happened. I had just got off work that morning. So I’m watching the TV, and I’m watching the fireman going in this burning building, and they were saying how many were dead. I’m thinking, I got a newborn baby, little over a year old. I’m looking at this on tv and going like, what have I gotten myself into.”

In 2005, Carson was part of a team sent down to New Orleans in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

“When hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans we went down there. We worked. That’s like the worst thing I’ve seen in my life. Just to see the catastrophe. Looked like a warzone, like a bomb hit. There were big barges and ships. Just imagine you take a barge out of the Mississippi river and sit it in the middle of Clay Street. That’s how it looked… It was horrible.”

“I stepped In”

In 2020, Carson became a Registered Nurse through the Paramedic to RN Bridge Program. He said he found inspiration from his sister, Carlene, for pursuing this path.

“My oldest sister, she kinda raised me because my mom passed away when I was 12 in a car accident. She was a nurse, and I was around her, and when I considered nursing I related that to my sister, so I thought, okay, I can do that,” he said.

In 2023, Carson was appointed Deputy Coroner after the retirement of Deputy Coroner Ronald Reagan.

“Ron had been sick for 8 or 9 months and wasn’t running any calls,” said Carson, “So by that period, Doug [Doug Huskey, Warren County Coroner] didn’t have anyone to give him relief… I stepped in.”

When asked if the two roles intermingle, Carson explained “I try not to mix the two, especially because when I’m being a paramedic, when I go to a call, I’m giving my all, giving a 100%, and of course no matter what I do and what I know, God’s got the last say-so.”

A Familiar Face

Although Carson tries not to mix his different roles, he does see some benefit in sometimes being there every step of the way.

“I’m in a capacity where I’m helping people in all aspects, in a sense. For instance, I’ve had a person where I had picked them up in an ambulance, then that same person that I took to the ER, I’m taking care of them there (at the hospital). In a sense it’s good because we already have a rapport.  You meet a lot of people. Of course when the time comes and somebody dies, people say, ‘Oh yeah, that’s the guy that took care of me or my family member.’ Sometimes seeing that familiar face means everything in the world to people,” he said.

Talking It Out

When the stress spills out with dealing with the potentially traumatic nature of such work, Carson cited compartmentalization and sharing the burden with a support system as key.

“The most challenging thing about it is you can’t take it home, but sometimes I find myself saying to my wife, ‘Hey, let me tell you what I did today.’ You try not to bring it home but sometimes it comes out, but it’s good to have a person who will listen to you. That’s therapy. You don’t realize, but talking it out sometimes helps.”

Carson is grateful for the support and understanding of his wife, Kimmerli, and family with his busy schedule. 

“That’s one thing about working these jobs, especially the fire department, being gone away from home for 24 hours. There’s going to be holidays that you can’t be there. You gotta be here, but the great thing about the fire departments is they welcome your family here. If it’s Christmas and you’re at work, guess what, if you tell your wife and kid, they can come here… We’re big on family stuff.”

While Carson is truly thankful for the support and understanding from his family and friends, he also leans on the support of his team for dealing with the more overwhelming parts of the job.

 “Certain stuff bothers you more than others, but coming back to the station, being able to talk about it… We may play a game of cards after a call, just to kind of get that off your mind,” he said.

Go the Same Path

Reflecting back on his nearly twenty-five years of service, Carson hopes that others will consider a similar career.

“I’ve had a great career here at the fire department, it’s well worth it. I advise any young man or young lady who wants to join the fire department or nursing, they can go the same path I did. We got guys with bachelors, barbers, anything you can think of, we got someone here that does it,” Carson said, “Anybody you see in a fire Department uniform will be glad to assist you and point you in the right direction, and they do have a Facebook page. Anytime they do a hiring test, they post it. They changed the age requirement to 18, and just raised the pay to like 40k a year… you only work 10 days a month. That’s why everyone here is able to work another job.”

Carson looks forward to continuing to serve the community in whatever capacity he is needed.