CAPTAIN ANDREW STEVENS

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It was virtually inevitable that Andrew “Andy” Stevens would make firefighting his career – it’s part of his family heritage. His grandfather was a volunteer firefighter in Swanzey for 45 years, and his father for 20 years. “I used to ride in the front seat of the truck with them on calls,” he says. Andy’s own first seven years as a firefighter were spent in Swanzey, where he qualified as an EMT and obtained his CDL driver’s license.

Andy joined the Claremont Fire Department in October 2003 as a full-time firefighter. He has since trained in many aspects of the profession: trench rescue, confined space rescue (for example, someone stuck in a drain pipe), Hazmat techniques, rescue systems 2 (structural collapse), communications officer 1 and 2, and inspection of multi-family residences. He also took instructor courses 1, 2 and 3, and is now a staff instructor at the New Hampshire Fire Academy.

Andy conducts education sessions at Claremont’s elementary schools and daycare centers. Such direct community involvement factors into his observation that “it’s comforting to live in a smaller place like Claremont. The value of being here means that we can provide emergency services very quickly. When a call comes in, we’re out the door in a minute and arrive at the scene as soon as safely possible.”

Andy is in “instructor mode” whenever he’s on shift duty. Claremont has several new, younger firefighters, he notes, “so our challenge is to instill years of experience to a new guy in as short a time as possible.” But, he adds, “there’s no substitute for reality. You have to learn and earn experience on your own.” The department schedules training burns to prepare every firefighter for a real fire which, Andy points out, doubles in size within 30 to 60 seconds. He ties this fact in to one of his training interests: structure collapse. Newly built structures burn much faster than older, “legacy” buildings (like the Claremont Opera House) because of the building materials now in use. The core lesson, he says, is to “learn to make a judgment on when a building is not safe to enter.”

When not “instructing,” Andy and all the other firefighters are busy with daily upkeep chores. “The public doesn’t see our preparedness. We check our trucks every day, including ensuring that each has all the equipment needed to answer a call. We check air packs, paint inside the station, mop the floors.” They also put the department’s Kubota through its paces: snow removal at the station as well as search and rescue in wooded terrain like Cat Hole, where they’ve handled hiking and ATV incidents.

In all of this work, Andy says, “I want to keep up my different skills. We have to be ready to go at the drop of a hat.”

Michael “Mike” Zombeck joined the Claremont Fire Department in May 1998, after serving as a call firefighter since 1992. His ties to the Claremont department are part of his family heritage: “My uncle was a firefighter here, and my father’s cousin was assistant chief.”

During his call firefighter years, Mike worked at what is today Pathways of the Upper Valley. There, his instinct to help people grew and has been an important factor throughout his firefighting career. “This is a career, not a job. It’s also a lifestyle, because even when we’re not on shift, we’re ‘on the job’ 24/7, willing to give assistance whenever and wherever we’re needed.”

“There’s a lot about firefighting I love. The camaraderie, the bonding with the other firefighters. The excitement, as each call is different. As captain, I’m first on the scene of a fire and am responsible for a range of duties, from assigning specific tasks to the other firefighters and making split-second judgments on a burning structure’s stability, to determining if there’s danger from gas or propane and effecting rescues of anyone who couldn’t evacuate the building.”

When not actually fighting a fire, Mike notes, “we become problem-solvers in all types of incidents: on medical calls, where, if we’re first on the scene, we might perform life-saving interventions, stabilize the person in place, and then assist the Golden Cross Ambulance professionals to motor vehicle accidents, where we might have to use the jaws of life to extricate an injured person.” 

Firefighters also deal with traffic control, preventing drivers from approaching downed power lines. They effect search-and-rescue missions in light-poor conditions (like a cellar at night) and confined spaces (a drainage pipe). If they have to control a brush fire – whether out in the woods or off Cat Hole Road or on a steep slope behind someone’s home – they head out on the department’s Kubota and brush truck, which are equipped with multi-purpose tools including a leaf blower to handle the duff (the top layer of dried leaves and other material), a hose and a water tank, and a stokes basket for transporting a person.

No matter the incident, Mike says, “we learn from each one and always ask ourselves, ‘How can we do better?’”

“Firefighting is the best career in the world. There’s the bonding with all my firefighting colleagues, the adrenaline rush. But most of all, it’s about helping people when they need us most.”

Russell “Russ” Chesanek joined the Claremont Fire Department in March 2014, bringing with him years of firefighting experience in municipal, airport and military settings. He served as a call firefighter in Charlestown in 2006. In 2007 he enlisted in the U.S. Army, choosing to be a firefighter; he took the course and graduated from the Department of Defense Fire Academy. From 2008 to 2010 he was an EMT with Golden Cross Ambulance; 2010 also saw him working for the State of Maine ANG Fire Department in Bangor, Maine. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and in 2013 worked in the Manchester Airport Fire Department. He continues to serve in the Army Reserves as a noncommissioned officer; his unit is based in Danvers, Massachusetts.

“The best thing about the firefighting profession,” Russ says, “is that the job differs from day to day. When we’re not extinguishing fires, we’re heading out on medical calls, or handling traffic control following a vehicle accident or downed power lines, or maintaining the fire station and the apparatus, or taking part in fire prevention education in Claremont’s elementary schools.”

While maintaining his EMT certification, Russ has taken many courses in various aspects of firefighting. He’s trained as a fire officer (management) and a fire inspector (domestic, commercial and public buildings). He also trained in technical rescue (such as structural collapse, confined space and rope rescue technician) at Florida State Fire College where, he found his niche in rope rescue. “I’ve specialized in it for the last five or six years. This would involve rescuing someone trapped in a vehicle that had gone off the road over a steep embankment, or someone who was injured on the riverbank like by the pedestrian bridge. Basically, any situation where difficult terrain could impede a rescue.”

Russ’s physical training and determination helped him become a member of the 4,000 Footer Club – over the course of two years he summited all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000-foot+ mountains. Also in 2023, Russ graduated the Army Air Assault School, known for its difficulty. The combination of staying in top physical shape while learning more and more aspects of firefighting is a major factor in how he sees his relation to the Claremont community: “All of us are trained to respond to any emergency.”

Scott Kenniston’s career with the Claremont Fire Department began in January 2003, as a call firefighter. “Firefighting was always something I wanted to do,” he says, “but I felt I couldn’t do it due to the schooling required and the need to work.” He started working right after graduating from high school, attaining Basic EMT status while employed as a machinist. Not being satisfied as a machinist, Scott decided to take on the challenge and become what he really wanted to be, a firefighter. “I took a leave of absence from my job and attended the New Hampshire Fire Academy. At 34, I was the third oldest in my class and I was not guaranteed a job before the academy. But I graduated and became a full-time firefighter in Claremont in July 2006.”

The best thing about a firefighting career, Scott believes, is how fulfilling it is. “Helping someone else is always a good feeling and Claremont is my hometown, which makes the personal contact even stronger.” For Scott, “helping” encompasses a wide variety of tasks that call upon his skills. “We treat everyone the same, no matter the time of day. Early in the morning or late at night and every minute in between, we’re available to the public. We’re often first to arrive at vehicle accidents and on medical calls. But the fire department can’t transport victims to a hospital – that’s where Golden Cross Ambulance personnel take over.”

Scott is now an Advanced EMT, which allows him to deal with more types of drug interaction, insert IVs and perform other Advanced Life Support techniques. (EMTs are required to be re-certified every two years.) He has taken courses in Fire Officer 1 and 2, and Instructor 1 and 2. He’s also been trained in ice rescue, confined space and trench rescue.

One of Scott’s on-the-job interests is pre-planning. He studies the “run cards” on file in the station, continually reviewing the more than 200 buildings in Claremont that have fire alarm and sprinkler systems. To apply his “know your roads” philosophy in the real world, he stays up to date on the locations of the city’s 442 fire hydrants, at times taking firefighters around town to familiarize them with the hydrant system. Scott is often out on two-a-day inspections of multi-family residences to ensure code compliance. He also makes presentations on fire prevention and safety in Claremont’s elementary schools.

Scott attends job fairs, where he promotes the value of the firefighting profession. “The Claremont Fire Department’s goal is to be out the door within 60 seconds of receiving an alarm,” he says. He hopes this standard of excellence can inspire others who are interested in firefighting to begin their own careers. Careers that, he adds, would match his own realization: “This is where I belong.”