The Role They Play

You have most likely seen the yik yaks joking around about Wiggins or seen the EMTs sprinting in their jackets towards the station.  Or maybe you’ve seen the firefighters speeding to their station in one of their trucks.  However, if you don’t live on that side of campus and if you aren’t really looking, you might not know just how much dedication some of our fellow classmates put towards volunteering to make our town a safer place.  The Sewanee Volunteer Fire Department and EMTs of Sewanee are not paid – they volunteer and put many hours into a job that sometimes goes unnoticed.  

But who are these people? They are students just like you and me.  They sit in the same classes and go to the same dining hall.  The only difference is that they sometimes get called out of class to perform a fire drill that we only notice if it gets us out of class or if we hear the loud sirens. But they do more than just get us out of class.  They go on the scene of car wrecks and house fires or save people’s lives by giving them medical support.  You might recognize them by the jackets they wear (though some of them might not have one yet), but you can always recognize them by a pager on their hip. Not only are these students saving lives, but they stay active in their academics, sports, and Greek organizations. 

I encourage you to really start looking around.  If you see them speeding down the road with a siren or running towards the station, move out of the way. Honestly, the men and women of the Fire Department and EMS are the closest Sewanee has to superheroes. Even if you don’t know their names, appreciate and thank them for all they do and know that Sewanee is a better place because of them.