Having the fire department hall only a few blocks away is a blessing in disguise. They can respond quickly in case there is a fire on campus. The Orange City fire department has 28 firefighters according to their website, but something special about the Orange City Fire Department is how they have three high school students and four college student firefighters in their ranks right now. One of these students is Noah Minnick, a junior elementary education major.
Minnick, a fireman for a year now, has always wanted to serve the community that he grew up in.
“This gave me the ability to give back to the community. I also always thought the fire department was cool, and I always wanted to join,” Minnick said.
He stressed that being a college student can make it complicated to get called in the middle of the night, then be at the call for several hours and get back later only to go directly to class. It makes for a very long day.
As these can be likely situations, he emails all of his professors at the beginning of the semester and tells them about him volunteering and the possibility of leaving class out of the blue or not making it to class if he is called in.
“The only time that I don’t leave is if I am taking a test or giving a presentation. Other than that, I am free to leave class to go on a call,” Minnick said. “All of my professors have been very supportive of me on the fire department, some saying ‘You should go, and thank you for serving our community in this way.’”
Minnick also shared that they meet twice a month, along with various training events. These might include controlled burns, going to schools and doing fire prevention presentations and also helping with various events for the community.
Not everyone can leave class if they have a call or have a particular parking spot in “heaven” with their name on it.
Minnick shared that he had to fill out an application and submit it to the fire department membership committee. Once that is done, they call you in to be interviewed by the membership committee, and then the department must put you through a physical test to see if you are physically capable of being in the fire department.
After the physical test, the membership committee, along with the rest of the fire department, contemplates if you would make an excellent member of the department. The department will then take a vote on if they want you on the department. If it passes, then you are an official member.
It is truly a blessing to have the fire department nearby but it is even more of a blessing to have students at NW serve the community of Orange City using the talents and strengths that God has gifted them. NW has the honor of having students volunteer on the fire department and with the EMT, showing their passion for serving through keeping Sioux County safe.
