FIREFIGHTING IF LIFE CHOICE FOR MEMBER OF THE YEAR
By Sinead O'Brien
HV staff
Jeff Werth had no choice but to be a firefighter. It's in his blood.
"It's basically a family thing," the 24-year-old said referring
to his grandfather, father and uncle's occupations as firefighters.
And being named Member of the Year of the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department
this February proves he intends to do the family name justice.
Werth moved here from Rochester, N.Y. two years ago to go to school and
learn the trade. He wanted to be a volunteer firefighter while going to
college and began checking out local fire departments. HVFD won him over.
"This is probably one of the better places in the county to be a volunteer,"
he said.
A firefighter since he was 18, Werth said since coming to Hyattsville he
has learned considerably more than he ever did in New York. The volunteers
at the department are better than anywhere he has ever seen, he said.
Werth said when he joined HVFD his family figured he would come here, live
in the firehouse,"and get this thing out of my system."<B>
But just the opposite occurred. "It's in my blood. I can't get rid
of it," he said.
Ultimately, Werth wants to be a career firefighter. The work he does now
reflects that but is unpaid.
To support himself while he lives in the firehouse and goes to school, Werth
works for a local subcontractor as a welder's helper.
Receiving the honor of Firefighter of the Year is not the end of his stream
of achievements. Werth got the President's Award for the Person Most Helpful
and was named Top Responder last year.
Such achievements also seem to run in the family. Werth's uncle has been
named Top Responder in Rochester, and his father is the assistant chief.
Apart from fighting fires, Werth also is an Emergency Medical Technician
and drives the ambulance. He said if you're a member of HVFD, you work at
doing it all.
"If you're in the firehouse, you're in it and give 100 percent,"
he said.
Werth's responsibility as a resident of the firehouse is Property Officer.
He's in charge of buying all supplies, which can be taxing when you are
buying for a house full of young men and women.
"If I'm out with my girlfriend and there's no coffee, they'll call
me," he said.
He must decide what to buy for the house and said he basically gets what
he thinks they might need. But, "you can't keep milk or bread around
here," he said.
Yet nothing takes away from how happy Werth is at the firehouse. He said
there's no way to be in a bad mood around the guys in the firehouse because,
"they'll harass you even more," he said.
The call that stands out most in Werth's mind is when he had to transport
a federal prisoner to the hospital with one federal marshal behind the ambulance
and one in front.
Werth plans to study engineering, a trade that will further his firefighting
career. And Hyattsville is where he plans to stay.
"I love it here," he said. "I'd never leave."
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Updated 4/15/96