By Laura Lane
"Being a firefighter is a calling," she said. "There aren't many people who want to run into fires. I had a nursing scholarship, planned on going to college, but I don't know, it just came to me one day that I wanted to be a firefighter instead."
Seidel, 22, of Bellmore, is originally from Florida. A week after her high school graduation, she moved to North Merrick to live with a family friend. The move was planned so that she could attend Queens College, but she knew even before she arrived that she would be dropping by the firehouse instead.
"When I got here four years ago, I became a firefighter, and joined the North Merrick Fire Department and immediately went to emergency medical technician school," Seidel recalled. Her demeanor was calm and her voice measured as she spoke, which she said comes in handy in her role as a firefighter and EMT. "After becoming a basic EMT worker, I decided to go another nine months in school to become an advanced emergency medical technician critical care worker. I want to eventually be a full-time paramedic."
Seidel said that the stress can be tremendous, adding that she has never responded to a fatal fire. But she has participated in her share of calls as an EMTCC worker when victims have died. "It doesn't bother me anymore, because you become numb to it," she said. "It's rare that we pronounce the victim [dead] at the scene."
EMT workers will rush victims to the hospital and continue performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the hope of reviving them. ³I have saved two people, and it's kind of cool when you get the pulse back,² Seidel said. ³It's not very often that you do, though.²
She enjoys the challenges of being a firefighter/EMT, and said that she loves ³the adrenaline rush that comes from not knowing what you're in for.²
She also enjoys the camaraderie she shares with her male counterparts, which she said wasn't easy to come by. "It took a long time for the firemen to understand that I can stand up for myself, but now we're all very close friends," Seidel said. "I hang out with them. You know you have to trust who you're going into a fire with."
She has enjoyed volunteering with the North Merrick department so much that she is planning to take the New York City firefighter test, hoping to land a full-time job. Seidel is now training for the physical portion of the exam, which is grueling. But that's all right with her, because she said she'll do just about anything to remain a firefighter. "Being a firefighter is really a thankless job, but that's not why I do it," she said. "I do it because I love it."
Comments about this story? LLane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
