Name: Frank Craig Age: 45 Lives in: Hellertown Family: Wife, 3 children Job: Lowe's Home Improvement, Dewey Fire Company Rescue Truck Driver Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Training so far: Hose Training, Ropes, Knots, etc. What's being a volunteer firefighter like? “It’s not like anything else! It’s nice knowing that you can make a difference in someone’s life. Human life is pretty valuable. You don’t really realize how valuable it is.” How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? “Probably the same as everybody else’s. They worry about us but they’re proud of us…

Name: Matt Skibo Age: 28 Lives in: Hellertown Job: EMT, Dewey Fire Company EMS Lieutenant and Firefighter Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Training so far: Essentials, Vehicle Rescue, Hazmat Operations, Incident Command, Firefighter 1, EMT, etc. What's being a firefighter like? “It’s fulfilling. You’re really not going to experience this kind of stuff watching TV. You’re not going to know what it’s like unless you come out and do it. It’s a rush, it’s fun, and it’s rewarding. It gives you a sense of worth.” How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? “My mom …

Name: Joe Pryor Age: 14 Lives in: Hellertown Job: Dewey Fire Company Junior Firefighter Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Training so far: Modules 1 & 2 What's being a volunteer firefighter like? “I love it because it’s something for me to do besides go home and just sit around. A lot of other kids wouldn’t normally pay attention to it. Eric (Weber) told me about it and I said, “I’ll do it!” I’ve always liked working with my hands, helping people out, and being outdoors. It’s a lot of fun.” How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? “My mom and my dad were very …

Name: Mike Maguire Age: 38 Lives: In Hellertown Family: Fiancé, four children Job: Paramedic, Dewey Fire Company Firefighter Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Training so far: Hazmat, Vehicle Rescue, Firefighter 1 & 2, Instructor, Paramedic, High Angle Rescue, Trench Rescue, etc. What's being a volunteer firefighter like? “It’s fun. It’s self-satisfying when you’re able to help somebody. It’s neat meeting a lot of new people. You have your family at home and you have your family down here as well. Everybody has each other’s back no matter what.” How do your loved ones feel about you …

Name: Jackie Gallagher Age: 17 Lives in: Hellertown Job: Employee at McDonald’s, Dewey Fire Company Junior Firefighter Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Training so far: Truck Training, Gear Training, Essentials, Module 1 What's being a volunteer firefighter like? “It’s fun. It has its moments, but there are times when you get frustrated. You just can’t let it bother you.” How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? “They don’t care! It runs in my family.” Tell us a story you'll never forget about your firefighting experience. “It was around Christmas at …

Name: Jeff Lynam Age: 29 Lives in: Hellertown Family: Wife, two children Job: Stay-at-home dad, Dewey Fire Company volunteer firefighter Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Training so far: Mod 1 & 2 What's being a volunteer firefighter like? “I haven’t been on a call yet but it’s exciting. There are a lot of interesting people and stories that come along with these people. Being a stay-at-home dad has its own challenges but there’s also a monotony to it. You can feel a little suffocated by that. This is more of an avenue to channel my aggression. I burn it off a little easier when I have …

Name: Gail Nolf Lives in: Hellertown Family: 2 sons, 2 grandchildren Job: Teacher in the Bethlehem Area School District, Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Firefighter, Hellertown Borough Council member Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Training so far: Ladders Training, Essentials, Hazmat, Emergency Vehicle, Ropes, Wildfire Training What's being a volunteer firefighter like? "It's very satisfying and it's a lot of fun. I think that if a person lives in a community, they should contribute to the community and this is the way I'm able to contribute. I like it. I feel like I'm good at it. It's a …

Name: Eric Weber Age: 17 Lives in: Hellertown Job: Dewey Fire Company Junior Firefighter Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1 What's being a volunteer firefighter like? “It’s a lot of fun. We find out a lot of interesting stuff about each other.” How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? “They like it because I do a lot of stuff for the community. They just find this more interesting because not a lot of kids my age do something like this. They are terrified when I have to run out of the house and put 45 pounds of gear on!” Tell us a story you'll never forget about …

Name: Mike McKenna Age: 48 Lives in: Hellertown Family: Wife Job: General Manager for an industrial manufacturing company, Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Engineer, Hellertown Borough Council member Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1, Hellertown Training so far: Interior Firefighting, Vehicle Rescue, Pump 1 & 2, Hazmat, etc. What's being a volunteer firefighter like? “Rewarding. It is strenuous. It is fun. Overall, I think it’s just a pleasure to do it.” How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? “They’re very supportive. Sometimes my wife admits that she is a '…

Name: Jimmy Skibo Age: 18 Lives in: Lower Saucon Township Job: Dewey Fire Company Junior Firefighter Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Training so far: Essentials What's being a volunteer firefighter like? “It’s fun. It gives you something to do and keeps you out of trouble. It’s like a family down here, so if you have troubles at home, you come down here and forget all about it.” How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? “They don’t mind. They think it’s cool that I’m doing something for the community. Like I said, it keeps me out of trouble. My mom gets worried…

Name: Rick Delmore Age: 40 Lives in: Hellertown Family: Wife, 3 children Job: Manager at a hardware store, Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Fire Chief Fire company: Dewey Fire Company Training so far: Firefighter 1, Vehicle Rescue, Engine, Truck, Hazmat, Instructor, etc. What's being a firefighter like? “It’s very rewarding. You get to help people. You get an adrenaline rush. If you have a problem, you get a way to fix it.” How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? “They support it, but they worry.” Tell us a story you'll never forget about your firefighting experience. “…

Name: Chris Scherer Age: 34 Lives in: Hellertown Family: Wife, 2-year-old daughter Job: Communications Manager at Silver Creek Country Club, Dewey Fire Company Paramedic and Lieutenant, Emergency Management Coordinator for the Borough of Hellertown Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Training so far: Firefighter 1, Hazmat, Vehicle Rescue, Rope Rescue 1-5, Paramedic, NIMS courses What's being a volunteer firefighter like? “It’s definitely different! I kind of grew up around it. My dad was a member of the fire department for over 30 years so I kind of grew up knowing exactly what was going …

Name: Nicholas Keller Age: 22 Lives in: Hellertown Job: Electro-Chemical Engineering, Dewey Fire Company Interior Firefighter/Driver Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Training so far: Essentials, Confined Space Rescue, Trench Rescue, Collapse Awareness, etc. What's being a volunteer firefighter like? “I love it. I’ve been doing it since I was 14 so I’ve been around the block here. It’s fun. I enjoy it and it keeps me out of trouble.” How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? “My mom is alright with it. She knows that I’m helping other people out so she’s willing …

Name: Phil Weber Age: 49 Lives in: Hellertown Family: Wife, 5 children Job: Quality Control Manager for a Precast Company, Hellertown Borough Council President, Dewey Fire Company Driver/Interior Firefighter Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Training so far: Interior Firefighting, Pumps, Driving What's being a firefighter like? “I like it. It’s fun and it’s serious.” How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? “They’re OK with it. I don’t think they’re really thrilled when I run out of the house, but they’re OK with it.” Tell us a story you'll never forget about …

Name: Ken Luybli Age: 52 Lives in: Lower Saucon Township Family: Wife, two daughters Job: Lower Saucon Township Road Crew, Southeastern Fire Company Treasurer Fire company: Southeastern Fire Company Training so far: Basic Firefighting, Advanced Firefighting, Vehicle Rescue, Numerous Command Schools, etc. What's being a volunteer firefighter like? “It’s good. It’s a great thing, a great challenge. It’s nice. It’s fun. It’s eventful, definitely eventful. I think the challenges are unique. Helping the public is good satisfaction.” How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger…

Name: Scott Krycia Age: 40 Lives in: Bethlehem Family: Wife Job: Firefighter Fire company: Leithsville/Se-Wy-Co Fire Company (currently merging) Training so far: Firefighter 1, Firefighter 2, Vehicle Rescue, EMT, CPR, First Aid, Hazmat What's being a firefighter like? “It’s fun. It’s rewarding. It’s a tight-knit community and the cool thing about it is, besides going to fire calls and hanging out at the station doing projects with these guys, you can count on any one of these guys if you have something outside of the company that you may need help with. Such as, I’ll have a hole in my roof, …

Name: Derrick Deschler Age: 18 Lives in: Hellertown Job: Lehigh University Event Staff, Dewey Fire Company Junior Firefighter Fire company: Dewey Fire Company No. 1 Training so far: Essentials (almost completed to become an interior firefighter), Water Rescue Awareness, CPR, First Aid, Rapid Intervention Team Awareness What's being a firefighter like? “It’s different from what you see in movies and TV shows. It’s a lot more rewarding than what they show. It’s a lot more fun and it’s just great.” How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger? “My dad is pretty supportive of…

Name: Tom Weikert Age: 61 Lives: Lower Saucon Township Family: Wife, 3 children, 6 grandchildren Job: Material Handler and Store Keeper at Stanley Storage Systems, Southeastern Fire Company Safety Officer Fire company: Southeastern Fire Company, Lower Saucon Township Training so far: Basic Firefighter, Vehicle Rescue, Hazmat, etc. What's being a firefighter like? “I’ve been with them for 35 years so I must enjoy it. I enjoy working with the guys and giving my time back to the community because I think some day somebody’s going to come and maybe help me. Somebody always needs our help and I …

Editor's Note: We're interested in profiling volunteer firefighters from throughout the Saucon Valley. If there's someone you'd like to nominate for this regular Patch feature, send an e-mail to Josh.Popichak@patch.com. Name: Ed Deegan Age: 52 Lives: Lower Saucon Family: Wife, Daughter Job: Automation Engineer at Air Products and Chemicals, Rescue Captain Fire company: Se-Wy-Co Fire Company Training so far: Firefighter 1, Firefighter 2, Hazmat, Ops, EMT, First Aid, CPR, Rescue Tech What's being a firefighter like? “There are two sides. It can be very stressful, depending on what you’re going …

Name: Jon Lau Age: 41 Lives: Hellertown Family: Wife, 5 children Job: HVAC, Dewey Fire Company Lieutenant and Engineer Fire company: Dewey Fire Company Number One, Hellertown Training so far: Firefighter 1, Hazmat, Vehicle Rescue Technician, Pumps, First Aid, CPR, Ropes, Incident Command What's it like being a firefighter? “It’s fun. You experience a lot of different things and make a lot of friends. I just enjoy going out in the community, you know, helping everybody out and going to other counties to help out. I just enjoy doing it.” How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life …