Upper Nazareth Township firefighting teens follow in their father's footsteps

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/nazareth/index.ssf/2012/05/upper_nazareth_firefighting_te.html FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES BY AMANDA GRIESSER For The Express-Times Jeffrey Fassl Jr. and his sister Tricia seem like typical teenagers. Jeffrey, 14, attends Nazareth Area Middle School and enjoys fishing and four-wheeling. Tricia is 16, recently started driving and cheers at Bethlehem Catholic High School. What sets them apart from most other teenagers is their commitment to saving lives. Jeffrey and Tricia are junior volunteer firefighters for the Upper Nazareth Township Fire Department. They have followed in the footsteps of their father, Jeffrey Fassl Sr., who has been a firefighter for 16 years. He's the president of the township fire department. Fassl and his wife, Chris, the fire department secretary, never expected their children to become firefighters. “We can be out and see a lot of tragedy, but we have a lot of family time. And it’s fun,” Fassl said. Jeffrey, Tricia and their father each have a pager that notifies them of emergencies. When they receive a call, they have three minutes to get to the fire station, get in their gear, get in a firetruck and get out the door. “My favorite thing is the adrenaline rush,” Jeffrey Jr. said. “The house rocks when the pagers go off,” his father said with a laugh. Tricia and Jeffrey may not enter buildings to fight fires until they turn 18. They provide exterior support by hooking up fire hoses to hydrants, refilling cylinders in other firefighters’ air packs, cleaning up accident scenes and grabbing the tools needed to control a blaze. They wear the same helmets, gloves, boots and heavy-duty turnout gear as every other firefighter. Of the five junior volunteer firefighters at the station, Tricia has been volunteering for the longest time and has completed the most training. She has received first aid, CPR and hazmat training and completed three modules of fire school through Northampton Community College. She became a state-certified EMT on May 20. Tricia decided to become a volunteer firefighter in order to help the community. “I love to deal with people and help people and know we’re here for them in their worst times,” she said. Jeffrey is the youngest junior volunteer firefighter in the department. He participates in drills at the fire station every Monday night and plans to enroll in fire school at Northampton Community College in the fall. He dreams of one day becoming a firefighter in New York City. “Out there you get to help people more often,” he said.