Every college student balances studies and work with life. Some at Allegheny balance studies and work with saving lives.
Alexander Vincent, ’27, compared the West Mead #2 Volunteer Fire Department to a sports team because of the support members give each other.
“You go, you train, you practice, you work as a team, you work as a unit,” said Vincent, who also plays lacrosse at Allegheny. “If one person on your team isn’t holding up to the standard, just like a team you help get them to that standard.”
According to Vincent, his motivation to volunteer at the fire department stems from his passion to give back to the communities he resides in.
“Allegheny College is where we go to school but for a lot of us it is not our home,” Vincent said. “We are very much guests here and being able to give back to the community you are being introduced to is very much something I believe in a lot and the fire department is a great opportunity.”
While the fire department can be a big commitment for some students, Alizcelie Romero, ’27, said the program is supportive and understanding of students’ limitations and of those who may not have as much time as others to volunteer.
“It’s all about expressing your limitations and expressing what you aren’t comfortable with,” Romero said. “For me, I’ve been working on getting better upper body strength because I felt some of the things I have had to carry are a bit heavy, but there are always other people there who are willing to give a helping hand.”
The fire department is a place where some students have been able to receive support and advice for matters outside of firefighting such as for school and stress, Romero said.
“It is something that for me feels like a de-stressor as someone who has been very busy for both of my semesters as a freshman,” Romero said. “The firefighter program as well as the volunteers at the firefighter program have all been very welcoming and very supportive and have shown me different ways to not only grow in my role as a member there but also different situations that I have dealt with in school.”
Similarly, Harlan Ogden, ’27, who has committed to volunteering at the fire station said he has received aid from other members of the fire department in matters outside of firefighting.
“It might be a little bit surprising but the biggest stress for me is balancing school and the fire department,” Ogden said. “I am at the station six days a week for five hours a day which makes getting your work done hard. So we will all study together and get our work done together.”
Some students at the fire department have experienced high-stress calls, but the fire department team has emotionally supported those who have experienced such calls, according to Ogden.
“Your department cares about you after any high-stress call and if you are in need nobody is going to leave you hanging,” Ogden said. “They will stay and get you whatever help they can get.”
New Media Designer Derek Li volunteers at the fire station, and said that Meadville is largely served by volunteer firefighters like himself.
“I would say the biggest challenge probably for every fire department is just recruitment, making sure that we have numbers,” Li said. “Not everybody who joins stays in it forever.”
While Li does not work with students at the station on a regular basis, his interactions with students have helped him maintain motivation for both work and firefighting.
“You know, I don’t work with students day-to-day, but when I get to go on stuff like Alternative Spring Break those kinds of things where I get to know students as people,” Li said. “I think that definitely recharges me a little bit.”
While many of the firefighting experiences people talk about are those high-stress calls, Ogden said that there is a lot more to the work.
“Something I feel like needs to be brought up more in the fire service life is that everyone’s telling war stories of the most traumatic calls they’ve been on,” Ogden said. “But we do a lot of stuff where you leave just feeling better about yourself and your community like we will do service calls where we help people out.”
Richard Russo, ’26, added an example of the kinds of work the fire department does to help the Meadville community outside of crisis calls.
“The fire department takes a big stance on helping older people,” Russo said. “Sometimes we have gotten phone calls because people just want help with setting stuff up or people who just want company which, while it is not the best use of emergency services, it is something that we’re always going to be willing to provide because it makes them happier.”
Russo intends to have firefighting as part of his life while he continues in college and long after he graduates.
“My end goal is to help with my family company and do firefighting because it is something I really love and am very passionate about,” Russo said. “There is no other experience quite like it on this planet that I have been able to find.”
Russo said that when he responds to a call and arrives at the scene, his muscle memory takes over because of all the practice he has received at the station.
“You have milliseconds and it’s a very surreal experience but it is also a very comforting experience,” Russo said.
Ogden said that firefighting is rewarding and that it is the kind of hard work that has changed him for the better because he is able to push himself in other aspects of his life more than he had before.
“Something fire services are known for is that it will humble you,” Ogden said. “It will break you down over and over again until you are perfect. You can be on 40 years and you will still find gaps in your knowledge.”
Russo and Ogden plan on starting a first responders club next semester to bring people to the fire department who may not be able to commit all the time, but are interested in working with volunteer emergency services.
Currently, students meet at the fire department Tuesday nights and respond to calls throughout the week, according to Eric Snider, ’27.
“Come down and try it out,” Snider said. “The station is about four minutes away on 20607 Ryan Road, it is about four miles away up North Main Street, come on a Tuesday from 6:30 p.m. to around 7 p.m. I loved it when I first went, which is how I first got involved.”
