Most students at Saint Michael’s College, in Vermont, went home in mid-March because of the coronavirus outbreak, but some of them decided to stay to help the local community by providing emergency medical treatment and fire-protection services.
The 30 or so trained volunteers are with Saint Michael’s Fire and Rescue, an independent student organization (two paid positions, fire and rescue chiefs, are held by alumni). The squad has served the region 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, since it was founded, in 1969, when a student died on the campus while waiting for an ambulance.
Eric Haversang, the fire chief, says the group worked with the administration to allow some students to remain. Fifty out of a roster of 60 initially offered to stick around, and Haversang had to tell some to go home, so there would be reserves in case any volunteers got sick with Covid-19.
“Once there is community spread, you just have to assume everyone you’re dealing with could have it,” he says. Fortunately, the squad has an adequate supply of protective equipment — the volunteer first responders wear gowns, gloves, and goggles over their uniforms — and with careful scheduling of shifts, plus diligent health screening (all those who enter the firehouse get their temperature taken), none of the students has come down with the virus.
I had a “pretty thorough conversation with my parents,” says Maxwell Zwiener, first lieutenant with the fire unit. Back home in Rhode Island, they were nervous, but they “knew we were taking every precaution, so they were OK with it.”
The students provide an essential service, responding to more than 3,000 calls a year, says Haversang. And the community has shown its gratitude during the pandemic by providing dinners and donating money.
“As much as it was scary, they all rose to the challenge,” Haversang says of the student volunteers. “They have a sense of responsibility and commitment to the community, and to each other.”
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