By Diana Fishlock
Patriot News (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)
Copyright 2007 The Patriot News Co.
All Rights Reserved
MECHANICSBURG, Penn. — Koni and Kendra Hench always wanted to be firefighters.
When their dad, Daryl, would return from a fire, Kendra would ask him questions about the fire and whether anyone got hurt. Koni wanted to be at the firehouse all the time, Daryl Hench said.
“From age 4, they really got into it,” Daryl Hench said.
Today, all three Henches run for their gear when the fire alarm sounds from Washington Fire Company 28 in Mechanicsburg.
Kendra, 20, and her mom, Amy, also serve as emergency medical technicians.
Fire fighting, like freckles, sometimes runs in families.
“Historically in the fire services, oftentimes if one person volunteered, the next generation would fall in their footsteps,” said Kimberly
Ettinger from the National Volunteer Fire Council. “It is a trend that’s declining somewhat. It’s not quite as common as it used to be, but it is not unusual.”
Brad DeLancey has seen plenty of families who are firefighters or EMTs together.
“As a young child, they see their dad and they see the way he goes out and helps people. I think they kind of look at it as ‘My Dad’s going a great thing. I want to do that when I grow up.’ Kind of hero worship,” said DeLancey, EMS chief at Susquehanna Twp. EMS Inc. His father wasn’t an EMT, but he served in the Air Force for 36 years.
DeLancey and other Susquehanna EMTS rattled off names of fathers, sons, daughters and a few mothers who serve together in midstate emergency or volunteer fire departments. Several of the families serve in Susquehanna Twp. and Linglestown and many of the fathers attended school together in Penbrook.
Shawn Magaro, 19 and his father, Ray, of Lower Paxton Twp., volunteer at Linglestown Fire Department and are EMTs at Susquehanna.
“When he was 14, he wanted to be an EMT and a firefighter and he got me back into it,” Ray Magaro said. The two usually spent at least 5-6 hours together each day.
“It was the biggest thrill in the world to get to run with my son. I never thought I’d get to do this,” Ray Magaro said. “I never told him to do that. He just heard all the stories and it sparked an interest. I guess I’m the proud dad.”
They work well as a team, the Magaros said. “We could go a whole shift without having to say a word,” Ray Magaro said, because they know what the other one needs.
He worries a bit about his son and always makes sure he’s OK, but he knows Shawn’s had better training than firefighters got in the old days, Ray Magaro said.
Amy Hench worries more about Kendra and Koni, 22.
“It’s very scary,” Amy Hench said. “I always worried about both kids going into burning buildings.”
Daryl Hench doesn’t dwell on the thought of his children in danger, but it does hit him sometimes, he said.
“Everybody has a job to do. They’re doing their job you’re doing your job. It hits you a couple days later when you think, ‘My God. What am I doing sticking my kids in a burning building?’”