Mark Oribello: media coordinator with the computer science graphics group, volunteer firefighter/EMT
And of course you'll be wrong.
Oribello, the media coordinator for the computer science graphics group, is also a volunteer firefighter/EMT in Warren. On the weekend in question, he and his colleagues on Engine 5 - "Rough & Ready" - were called into action at two motor vehicle accidents and a chimney fire. A videotape he made at the scene of one accident gives a fuller picture of the weekend: sirens wailing, lights flashing, voices crackling over radios, the carcass of a vehicle that had hit a tree.
Oribello got hooked on such sights and sounds while just a boy. "When I was 7, I watched every single episode of 'Emergency' on television," he said. In college, he obtained his emergency medical technician (EMT) certification, which required more than 100 hours of training, and written and practical examinations. Currently, he has extended EMT certification, which allows him to perform additional first aid procedures. He hopes to obtain cardiac EMT certification next.
Two years ago, Oribello became a part of Rough & Ready. "I'm one of the newer members," he said. "There are second- and third-generation firefighters in my company. Some of the others have stories that go back to World War II. ... The history of the engine makes people feel like they're part of something bigger."
"We like the lights and the sirens," Oribello adds, "but we also get to be the good guys. Every member of the company, simply by being there when the call is put out, is doing something heroic."
Being a "good guy" means being on call. For Oribello, that has meant being interrupted while in the shower, eating dinner, or at 2 or 3 in the morning. He carries a pager with him at all times, and has emergency gear stashed in the trunk of his car. It's all "just part of the job," Oribello said. "I have a responsibility, as does everyone in the department, to serve."
The responsibility sometimes means working in an adrenaline-charged atmosphere of shouting, anger, confusion and pain. "You never see [the victims] at their best in this job," Oribello said, which sometimes means volunteers' efforts go unappreciated. "But over the years, you see folks get praised. That really goes a long way." - Tracie Sweeney