ALLENTOWN, Pa. — They gathered to honor and remember the selfless beauty of the man.
His sharing of himself — of his time, his heart, his soul. Humanity with no end, no matter the time or place. An altruism dedicated to making folks safer throughout his community and around the world.
Allentown Fire Department Assistant Chief Christopher Kiskeravage devoted nearly all of his 56 years of life to helping others — until he died of pancreatic cancer last June and was called to climb that final ladder to heaven.
In the end, the paradox is unmistakable: A husband, father and grandfather who shared chunks of himself with others in order to make himself whole.
Fellow firefighters, new recruits, family and friends gathered outside the Mack Southside Fire Station and Training Academy on Friday morning as Kiskeravage, the retired assistant chief for training, was honored with the dedication of a memorial sign along Lehigh Street.
"Chris was never about himself," said Matt Eharth, assistant chief of training and safety for the Allentown Fire Academy, which Kiskeravage led and is named in his honor. "He was helping when he had (testicular) cancer first and when he got cancer a second time. Just kept doing things for people."
"Chris was always thinking about others."Matt Eharth, assistant chief of training and safety, Allentown Fire Department
The green-and-white metal sign reads: Heroes Highway. Chief Christopher Kiskeravage Memorial Highway.
A second sign is at the opposite end of Lehigh Street — the signs buffeting the stretch of roadway that now bears his name.
“Chris was always thinking about others,” Eharth said. “I knew him for 15 years. He trained me in the academy.
“Everybody liked him. Guys like that are rare. He touched so many people’s lives that it's incredible. Just a great person. He deserves this honor.”
'Just was the right thing to do'
The memorial ceremony was held in the shadow of the memorial sign.
State Sen. Nick Miller, D-14th District, who initiated the process for permission for the sign through the legislature, saluted Kiskeravage’s duty to the community.
“For everything Chris has done for the Lehigh Valley and even internationally. This was just the right thing to do.”State Sen. Nick Miller, D-14th District
“For everything Chris has done for the Lehigh Valley and even internationally,” Miller said. “This was just the right thing to do.”
Kiskeravage had a passion for fire education and training, and for years led the Allentown Fire Training Academy.
Kiskeravage served with Allentown Fire Department for 23 years before retiring as assistant chief for training in 2019. He worked as an Easton firefighter eight years before that.
He also traveled the world, as far away as Japan and Korea, training firefighters from other nations.
Following his retirement from Allentown, he became South Whitehall Township’s first full-time fire commissioner.
'He just loved helping people'
The day outside the fire station began gray and cold. However, five minutes before the start of the ceremony, the clouds suddenly parted and the sun warmed the gathering.
The responsible party? That was obvious.
Kiskeravage’s widow, Andrea, dabbed tears beneath sunglasses, calling the day “bittersweet.”
“We would have loved to have had him here with us, to see the honor he’s getting,” she said.
“He was always caring for people — whatever and whenever they needed it. We would get Christmas cards from people from Japan and Korea, where he went to train firefighters.
"He just loved helping people.”
Love was a common theme on Thursday.
Andrea Kiskeravage, grieving the death of her husband, recalled the beginning of their love nearly 40 years ago.
“We met at Valley Transport Ambulance Service in Easton,” she said. “He was 19; I was 20. I trained him. We were paid emergency medical technicians.
“I knew he was the one right away. We got engaged eight weeks after we started dating and were married 11 months later. I knew.”
'I'm your instructor'
Kiskeravage’s commitment to helping was instilled in his children. Alexander and Theodore are members of Allentown Police Department; Kathryn is a burn unit nurse at Lehigh Valley Health Network-Cedar Crest.
"He would do anything for anyone who needed help."the late Christopher Kiskeravage’s daughter, Kathryn
“My father made a tremendous impact on the city,” the daughter said. “I used to watch him get out of bed to answer a fire call late at night.
"He was just so caring. He even donated his body to science so medical students could work on him to find things that could help others. He would do anything for anyone who needed help.
“And seeing how he helped people, I’m sure my brothers and I felt that sense of helping as we were growing up.”
Allentown Fire Chief Efrain Agosto Jr. praised Kiskeravage’s quality of helping the firefighters maintain a sense of teamwork.
“Chris was not one of ‘I’m the chief,’ but of ‘I’m your instructor,’” Agosto said.
Two weeks before Kiskeravage climbed that final ladder to heaven, he came to the fire station one last time.
“His wife brought him,” Agosto said. “He gave me a big hug. He was so weak and frail.
“And he said to me, ‘I would have been a great deputy chief for you.’
Giving till the very end.
