Cornell students on call for fire, ambulance

When the Mount Vernon Fire Department roars into action, chances are that one of its five Cornell student volunteers will be on the call. 

Fire Chief Nathan Goodlove has spent nearly 25 years on Mount Vernon’s volunteer fire department and never has he seen such a large influx of Cornell student volunteers. While he had some reservations about bringing on so many short-term recruits, he said the five students were self-starters.

“They knocked it out of the park. We just told them, ‘here are the expectations and what you have to do,’ and they did it,” Goodlove said. “They ask a lot of questions, are super interested, and see our overall mission for the community. It’s been really, really good for us.”

One of the five also volunteers for the Lisbon-Mount Vernon Ambulance Service, and two additional students serve on the ambulance service with her. Jacob Lindauer, director of the ambulance service, said the students tend to be great team members because they’re excited to learn and go on calls. 

The students join three Cornell alumni on the Fire Department: Jacob Buster ’16, Peter Weber ’22, and Mehrdad Zarifkar ’09; and four on the ambulance crew: Sarah Brungard Clough ’07, Dominique Fleming ’18, Eric Medenblik ’21, and Jim Wallace ’68.

Many of the students were recruited through Cornell’s Safety Week, which brings the local police, state patrol, ambulance, and fire departments on campus. They also heard about the opportunities through other students, faculty advisors, and the Berry Career Institute. 

Why they joined

Darren Mancke ’24 is a biochemistry and molecular biology major whose academic advisor encouraged him to pursue the ambulance service for hands-on exposure to health care. “I am thankful I was directed to join the service because this is something I’ve become passionate about, and I continue to learn more about EMS each day,” he said.

Engineering major and football player Mason Ciari ’25 joined to help fill his time in the off-season. One year in, he thinks firefighting is a possible career, possibly combined with engineering. 

“There are a lot of things that being part of the fire department has given me—most importantly the tight-knit community. I get another family by being a part of the fire department,” Ciari said.

How they manage

The ambulance service requests 36 on-call hours each month, and most of the students come to the station and do homework during their shifts. The fire department assigns each member to one of nine crews on call every ninth night. 

“These are the only times we are ‘required’ to go to calls, but in our department there is no one on call during the day, thus there is a responsibility to go to calls when you aren’t busy,” said Dane Markegard ’24 of the fire department. “I haven’t missed much class or practice for cross country or track to run a call. But depending on the severity of the incident, we are prepared to sacrifice certain engagements to respond.”

How it has shaped them

Markegard (a chemistry and biochemistry and molecular biology major) said his fire service has matured him: “Just being around adults who are further through their life than me is a priceless opportunity. Many of the calls I have been on have given me perspective on how limited and precious life really is, which is easy to lose sight of in normal college life. These experiences on calls and through the community of the department have helped me mature in a way I wouldn’t be able to without it.”

Chemistry major Elinor Ascher-Handlin ’25, who volunteers for both the fire and ambulance services, said she was shaped the most by one of her first calls, to an elderly woman whose caregiver wasn’t taking good care of her.

“I just will never forget how disappointed I was that she was being treated that way and couldn’t advocate for herself. That really pushed me into being interested in public health and advocacy,” she said. “So often the elderly and disabled are in these situations where they are ignored or abused, and they don’t have an advocate. I want to change that.”

Biochemistry and molecular biology major Charles Link ’25 said firefighting has given him a different perspective on life.

“The department has taught me many things, one of which is stepping back and really thinking big picture, something I do very poorly,” Link said. “I tend to become very interested and hyperfocused on a specific aspect of a problem. Firefighting really enabled that full-body, full-picture, full-frame thinking.”

RJ Sutton ’25 considers his service to the fire department a once in a lifetime experience.

“Typically we don’t talk about the things you see out on the job, but it can teach you a lot about life and love. We are not superheroes and we can’t fix everything, but we will try our hardest and when our hard work pulls through, it’s something really special. That’s why we do it.

“It’s an incredibly awesome responsibility to take on. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”