For two Ball State University students, the dream of riding in a red engine and fighting fires has become a reality.
Senior marketing major Sta's Daszkiewicz said he met senior public relations major Dave Gans their freshman year and quickly became friends.
The two often thought of their firefighting dreams from childhood.
"It hit me," Daszkiewicz said. "I really wanted to do that."
He decided a career as a firefighter was what he wanted, and he went out to find the means to pursue it, leading him to Yorktown Volunteer Fire Department.
Hitting the books
In October 2008, the men then enrolled in firefighter classes at the department.
Gans said the classes consisted of sitting in a classroom learning about fire and forcible entry for eight hours a week and sacrificing some weekends to help out around the station.
Daszkiewicz said the class was a two-hour slide presentation and book work that taught how to do procedures and apply them to real situations.
"One day we learned about extraction," Daszkiewicz said. "Then we went out back, cut a car open and learned how to take a person out of it."
Not an easy street
The men were sworn in after completing training and passing all their tests in early January.
Being college students earned them no breaks.
"Even though they are students," Captain David Boone said, "we still hold them to what everyone else is."
Boone said they did everything paid firefighters did.
"They came on and did exactly what they had to do," Boone said. "They worked hard both in class and at the fire department to meet their requirements."
Each volunteer firefighter who is a Yorktown resident is required to answer 20 percent of the station's calls each month, Gans said. Because he and Daszkiewicz were not residents, they worked hourly, putting in a minimum of 24 hours at the station each month.
Station life
As Daszkiewicz and Gans waited for calls at the station, they passed time by cleaning equipment and washing the fire trucks.
Gans said newbie fire fighters do all the dirty work around the station as a rite of passage.
"In all honesty, the guys care about you a lot," Gans said. "They want to see your dedication, and we want to show them."
Daszkiewicz said volunteer firefighters did the same thing as a professional firefighter.
"Our captain will tell you," Gans said. "There is no such thing as a volunteer."
He said most firefighters at the station answered 90 percent of the calls, sometimes leaving family in the middle of the night to help.
The suspense is a killer
Neither student had answered a fire call yet.
"I am excited to answer a fire call," Gans said. "I'm dying for it."
Their mothers, on the other hand, were not so eager.
"My mother is terrified, but ever since I was little, she told me I would grow up to be a hero," Gans said.
As worried as Daszkiewicz's mother gets, she called all the time asking if he'd gotten a fire call yet, he said.
Future plans
The hourly schedule Gans and Daszkiewicz had at the station helped with school, they said. Gans said they found time on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays to go to the station.
Gans applied at Wayne County Fire Department, on the Southside of Indianapolis. He said an estimated 900 people would apply for one of six open positions.
If accepted, Gans would start the academy in May and would finish classes at Ball State online.
"This is what I want to do with my life, so if I have to postpone graduation for a few months that's fine with me," Gans said.
The two said they ultimately wanted to be a fire chief.
Daszkiewicz said his dream career would be in Chicago, but getting a firefighter job there is nearly impossible. He said the department had its first openings in 10 years in 2006.
He said when he became more experienced he wanted to be a fire inspector.
As for Gans, he said he would love to be a captain or a chief. He said his public relations skills could come into play if he decided to be the public relations director for the state.
Until the future comes, the men must work 13 months of probation at Yorktown. When they are finished, they'll get new, fitted gear and be prepared for when the call finally comes.
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