Profiles in Volunteerism: Firefighter Mike McKenna

Name: Mike McKenna

Age: 48

Lives in: Hellertown

Family: Wife

Job: General Manager for an industrial manufacturing company, Engineer,

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. 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 'firefighter widow' only because you can get a call and come home, but then an hour later you get another call. You know if there aren’t a lot of people around, you end up staying back and covering the town. If there are enough people around to go away from the town and the call comes off, you always have your pager. If it’s something drastic, I can come back but sometimes we have enough guys here with enough credentials to cover it.”

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

“I guess one of the best things is that I had the chance to bring another firefighter here. He was able to go through firefighting classes and ended up getting his Firefighter 1 certificate. That was just a pleasure for me. He’s a great kid and his father is now part of the fire company. The camaraderie of everyone is great, too.”

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

“We could always use the help. You don’t have to become an interior firefighter. We always need people to be support staff. You can drive. When I started out, all I wanted to do was drive. are always welcome because those guys will go forward with the steps we have done. Don’t ever get nervous and don’t ever get scared. It’s just a great job. Our pride is our pay.”