Nov 10, 2021
Today I speak with Jeremy Norton. He grew up in D.C. where he
studied literature, writing, and whatnot at Boston-area colleges;
taught literature at former-military evangelical prep schools in
Chattanooga, TN, then arrived in Minneapolis, MN in the fall of
1994. He joined the Minneapolis Fire Department in 2000 after
becoming interested through an old high school friend (Jennifer
Cornell) who became a mentor and inspiration. He is currently a
Captain on Engine Company 17 in south Mpls.
His interest in literature, human nature, cultural studies and the
vagaries of human nature provide lenses through which he examines
and strives to contextualize the wide range of people and
situations emergency response provides him
Jeremy has written a book about the EMS (medical) side of
firefighting, to be published in the next year by Univ. Minn.
Press. It addresses the gutter end of our health care system, the
breakdown of our societal understanding of death and dying, the
many forms and consequences of denial, race-class-gender issues in
the fire service AND in emergency response, as well as the ongoing
damages caused by traditional masculinity--both for emergency
responders and for the general public.