Emily Knight
@eknightcourant
On stormy days, many high school kids are used to coming home, relaxing, and waiting out the bad weather. Senior and volunteer firefighter, Will Hetherington, however, is a different story.
On September 25, a flash flood hit Connecticut, shutting down highways, closing streets, and leaving many vehicles submerged in water. One car, driven by a grandmother with her three young granddaughters in the backseat, was travelling through Darien when her car became almost completely submerged underneath a bridge.
The fire department got a call about the incident and rushed to the scene. Will was instructed to put on a flood suit and then had to go to the car and take out the three girls, one by one, and swim with them on his shoulders to safety. Next, along with his safety worker, Will managed to get the grandmother out of the front seat and to safety.
Not many kids can say that they have saved one person’s life, let alone four people’s, but it was just another day on the job for Will Hetherington. Will started volunteering almost two years ago, when he became interested in the fire department because his grandfather was a firefighter. Now you can find him at the station from around 2-9 everyday, usually helping train kids aged between 16-18, which he became certified to do in April.
Being a firefighter is difficult and requires a lot of work. “It’s really exhausting and you have to be prepared to see some stuff. When we go train, we will go into a building, around 400 degrees and it is like you are wearing a ski coat with 80 lbs of weight on you,” Will said.
However Will also notes the strong family atmosphere at the station. “I’ve met a lot of friends through the fire department,” he said, “It’s like a family, a sort of house of misfits because there is anybody from 17 to 40.”
Through his time at the fire department, Will has grown into an experienced volunteer. “Since he has become a member here, I’ve seen him grow as a firefighter, he’s really interested and he absorbs everything he learns and he applies it out in real life,” said Shane Smith, who has worked at the New Canaan Fire Department for over 20 years. “He is very reliable, if you ask him to do something he will do it and do it right the first time,” Smith said.
And this could be credited to all of the hardwork and time that Will has put into his training. “ I would go to school from 7:30 until 2 then do my homework until 6 at the department and then I would go to class from 6 until 10 or 11 every other day from April until September of this year” Will said.
Not only that, but to train, he had to go through extensive hazmat training. “You have to do hazmat ops which is hazardous materials and chemicals and how to seal an area off and contain it.”
After all of the training, he was put to the test to prove his knowledge and skill-set in front of a group of evaluators.
Only after all of that hardwork and dedication, Will was able to become a certified firefighter. “I would take him in a fire or any other rescue mission with me, without hesistation,” Smith said.
