Profiles in Volunteerism: Firefighter Bill Csaszar

Name: Bill Csaszar

Age: 65

Lives in: Lower Saucon Township

Family: Wife, Daughter, 2 Grandchildren

Job: Safety Officer, Se-Wy-Co Company’s Fire Investigator, Lower Saucon Township’s Emergency Management Coordinator, Trustee

Fire company:

Training so far: Firefighter 1, Firefighter 2, Hazmat, hours of fire investigation, Vehicle Rescue, Advanced Rescue, Rope Rescue and more.

What's it like being a firefighter?

“It never gets old for me. I enjoy it as much as the first day I came here. The camaraderie is the biggest thing. You make a lot of good friends. It’s definitely an extended family, a tight-knit family, and that means a lot. I don’t have a lot of relatives in the area anymore. They’re all my family now. When somebody’s in trouble or needs help with something, we all jump in and help him. We’re not just here at the station or at home. One of the fellows needed a transplant and we all chipped in by fundraising or helping out at home for him. So, we’re a tight-knit bunch. We’ll do anything at any time for any one of them.”

How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger?

“I’m married 43 years and I’ve been a fireman 38 years so she’s grown to like it! There were definitely some tougher times in the beginning of our marriage but we weathered it. I think I was with the department five years and found myself taking on the job as the fire chief. Pretty much that night, she said, ‘If you come home the fire chief, don’t come home.’ She’s learned to live with it. She doesn’t know why I still do it and even though I explain it to her, I don’t see a day when I won’t be doing it.”

Tell us a story you'll never forget about your firefighting experience.

“There’s one that hit very hard because my daughter was the same age at the time. We had an ambulance call. A toddler fell in the pool and basically drowned. Myself and one of the other guys got the child out, resuscitated the child and brought it back. The sad part is that it only lived a few days in the hospital due to brain damage. At least the family had a chance to cope with the situation. That’s something I’ll never forget because my daughter was the same age.”

What would you tell people interested in joining your fire company?

“Don’t be afraid. You’re not going to be put in harm’s way without the proper training. We’ll give you anything and everything it takes to make a better firefighter in terms of training and equipment. We have the best that’s available. You learn more than how to put a fire out. You learn a little bit of everything.”

For more information about volunteering for Se-Wy-Co, visit the company's website.