Joelle Anselmo, Reporter
@janselmoCourant
While most students at New Canaan High School choose to spend their leisure time attending sports games and hanging out with their friends, seniors Danny Fairchild and Teddy Holappa dedicate themselves to maintaining the wellbeing of the citizens of New Canaan. Danny and Teddy trained to be Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) through the New Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps over the past two years. Danny and Teddy dedicate hours of service a week as well as balance their school work and curriculars, while still finding time to relax.
Teddy didn’t necessarily know that being an EMT was going to become a large part of his life, because it was more of a spur-of-the-moment decision. “There’s always been a sign up for EMT classes outside of the police department and I just decided I wanted to do it,” he said.
Both Danny and Teddy had to undergo a very in-depth certification process which consists of hours of practice and exams. “That certification process takes about 5-6 months,” Teddy said. “After that, you can join the Ambulance Corps as a probationary member for about 6 months, and then you’re a full-fledged EMT.”
Danny, on the other hand, saw the EMT experience as a way to measure what he might want to do in the future. “I wouldn’t say there was one source of inspiration, it was more trying to figure out if I liked medicine,” Danny said. “I was just trying to experiment with the future a little bit.”
When Danny isn’t on the clock, a day on the job mostly consists of cramming school work and catching sleep in between calls.
“I try to do schoolwork at the Corps, because if I have a shift before the school day, it’s difficult,” he said. “You have to plan your caffeine intake with your hours.”
However, when their pager goes off, they pack up their equipment and board the ambulance to the designated location.
Teddy admits that when he got his first call, the pressure of the situation was more than he expected. “It was scary because people just expect you to do everything and just hand the call to you,” he said.
While most people may believe that EMTs are always responding to major emergencies, Danny and Teddy have noticed that most of the calls are not cases of imminent danger.. “A lot of the times they don’t even need to go to the hospital, someone else called for an ambulance because the person questionably in danger refused to,” Danny said. “Most calls are about people generally not feeling well or people who can’t breathe normally.”
They respond to patients in New Canaan as well as surrounding towns, like Norwalk.
Both enjoy their jobs, even if the workload gets incredibly heavy. Danny feels that although it can be a lot of work sometimes, they enjoy their time while on the job. “Other than occasionally being tired at school, I don’t have many complaints. It’s completely volunteer so I do it because I want to,” Danny said.
Teddy feels that the work as an EMT can be heavy, but it is also rewarding. “My favorite part of the job is getting a call from people that actually need you and they’re really happy to see you. It’s when you know you saved a life,” Teddy said.
Regarding their future careers, Danny and Teddy are not sure if they would like to continue in the medical industry. Danny said, “I know I like it but I’m not sure if it’s what I want to do in the future.”
Teddy, on the other hand, knows he wants to become a doctor. He recently delivered a baby on the job. Due to private patient confidentiality, the details or personal information of the birth cannot be released, but Teddy feels that it was one of the most memorable moments of his career as an EMT.
Overall, Danny and Teddy feel that they will carry the experiences they’ve learned as EMTS their whole lives and they recommend the course to anyone in high school because it’s a way to test yourself and your abilities in the real world and it matures you in a way no other teen job can. “It feels good to give back to the community in such a direct way,” Danny said.
If the program interests you, NCVAC is holding an EMT class in January. Contact Danny or Teddy for more information (danny.fairchild@ncps-k12.org, teddy.holappa@ncps-k12.org).
