Kenny Waters

Kenny Waters was a veteran firefighter with the Henrico Division of Fire in Henrico County, Virginia, where he served for more than 18 years. Those who worked alongside him remembered him as a dedicated member of the department who also served on its specialized dive team, a role that requires additional training for water rescue and recovery operations.

Waters's commitment to his community was formally recognized only shortly before his death. He was named the 2026 Firefighter of the Year by the Short Pump Ruritan Club, an honor presented at the civic group's annual awards dinner that celebrates local first responders who go beyond the ordinary demands of the job.

Colleagues and local residents who knew him through his nearly two decades of service described a firefighter whose work extended beyond firefighting itself, into the harder, less visible tasks of dive rescue, mentorship within the department, and a steady presence on calls across the county. His death came as a shock to a department that had, just weeks earlier, been honoring his contributions, and it has prompted an outpouring of condolences from current and former colleagues, local officials, and members of the public who encountered him through his work.

Waters died on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, while off duty. The Henrico Division of Fire announced his death the following day, Thursday, November 5, in a public statement that did not specify a cause. No further information about the circumstances of his death, including where it occurred or any medical details, has been released as of this writing, and local news coverage has likewise reported only the fact of his passing rather than its cause.

He is survived by his wife and two children. The Henrico Division of Fire and the wider Henrico County community have offered condolences, with the department saying its thoughts are with his family, friends, and coworkers. Funeral and memorial arrangements have not yet been announced publicly, and this page will be updated once further details are confirmed.

It is worth noting, given how many people search for this name alongside unrelated terms, that this Kenny Waters, the Henrico County firefighter, is a different person from Kenneth 'Kenny' Waters of Massachusetts, whose wrongful murder conviction and exoneration through the efforts of his sister Betty Anne Waters and the Innocence Project became widely known through the 2010 film Conviction. That Kenneth Waters died in 2001, twenty five years before the firefighter profiled on this page. The two men are unrelated and share only a name.