Who Answers the Call? Aston Fire Volunteer EMT/FF Kate Denney

Aston Township Fire Department Volunteer Firefighter/EMT Kate Denney bolts awake to the buzzing of her phone. It’s 6 a.m. on a Sunday, and someone needs her help.

In pajamas, she rushes to the firehouse, as have a dozen other EMTs and firefighters. On goes her jumpsuit and, in two ambulances and a fire truck, the responders speed to the home where a patient is non-responsive and not breathing. Her skin has turned blue.

A paramedic hooks up a heart monitor and Kate, 38, places her left hand over the right, laces her fingers, and pushes hard and fast to compress the patient’s chest. The paramedic inserts a tube into the woman’s mouth. Kate attaches a bag that responders squeeze to force air into her lungs. The heart monitor shows no activity.

The paramedic uses an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) to shock the patient’s heart. Kate and the others continue chest compressions, taking turns so each team member retains the atrength required for this hard, physical work.

Finally it happens: A pulse! The woman takes one breath. Then another.

“Her heart started beating on his own, and she was here, with us, again,”Kate remembers.

Kate’s volunteer career began two decades ago when she followed her father, mother, and brothers into Sharon Hill Fire Company.

She has been with her current crew for six years. Her husband, Robert, is also an Aston firefighter. They have two kids, Joe, 17, and Nolan, 13, along with three dogs, two cats, a parrot, a tank of fish, and some reptiles. Kate works as a market manager for a retail company. She’s also a school board director for the local school district.

Why, with all of that responsibility, does she continue to answer the call? Kate will never tire of fighting fires, assisting someone who is hurting or scared, or saving lives.

“I love helping people in their time of need,” she said. “Being able to do that, it’s so rewarding.”

It’s also exciting, she adds. “You definitely get an adrenaline rush. The scene always changes, and you never know what you’ll be walking into.”

Whatever a firefighter or EMT walks into, they never do it alone. “You’ve got to depend on each other, at a fire scene, or any emergency. You have got to have each other’s back.”

Within every Delaware County volunteer fire house and rescue squad there’s a team of volunteers much like Kate’s. Every last one of them needs more volunteers: firefighters, fire police officers, emergency medical technicians, and non-emergency support members who perform other critical roles, such as maintaining the trucks and station and running special events and fundraisers. Training and gear are all provided free to members.

There are many ways to be part of a volunteer fire company team, Kate says. Everyone’s help is needed, and every person is welcomed. That teamwork builds incredibly strong relationships. “The firehouse is a very tight community – it is your family,” she said.

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right for you? Every fire company and rescue squad in Delaware County
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