At 18, Saige Schurr moved to Montesano and found herself wanting to make a meaningful impact in healthcare. After mentioning volunteering with the fire department, a friend of her stepmom told her to “just go into the fire station.”

Schurr recalls being nervous walking into the station. “I drove around the block a few times and I was, ‘All right, just walk in, just walk in.’” She did walk in, the first time ever being in a fire station, and asked for a volunteer form, which she filled out and returned.

On the first attempt, she failed the physical exam, which consisted of a kind of obstacle course that consisted of performing tasks, such as hoisting hoses, climbing the ladder, and hoisting ladders, within a time limit.

“I was barely off,” Schurr said. “The hose was a little too heavy for me, so I went back to the gym and I trained. I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to do it.’”

The second time, she passed and officially started on April 23, 2024.

Now, a little over a year later, she passed the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) exam, becoming a nationally registered EMT. As Schurr represents the up-and-coming generation of first responders, I met up with her to discuss what she does as a volunteer, how she prepared for the EMT test, and her future career goals.

Q: What have you learned over the past year and a half as a volunteer firefighter?

Schurr: You get to learn so many different skills. If you told me a year ago, I could spike a bag or put on a 12 lead, I would be like, ‘What is a 12 lead?’ A 12 lead is an EKG to take a picture of the heart. I love going on medical calls.

Even doing the physical side of it, you learn so much discipline and there’s such a community here and you really make a family. All the leadership, everyone on staff, they guide you through it and they’re always so understanding. There’s never something you can’t ask, and they’ll always put down whatever they’re doing to come and help you do better.

Q: What prompted you to take the EMT test?

Schurr: Part of being a volunteer is you have a probationary booklet, and there’s so many things that you need to have done within a year. One of them is doing EMT school, and the station sends you through it, which is nice if you’re a volunteer. I loved EMT school, honestly. I was a little nervous because I was, ‘Oh, going back to school.’

Q: During the training, what did you learn about yourself?

Schurr: The hardest part was learning that I can do hard things, going out there and being consistent with it. I learned that I can trust myself and I can depend on myself. And it’s nice knowing that if I can, others, such as patients, can too.

Q: How difficult was taking the EMT test?

Schurr: I didn’t pass that my first try either. I was studying really, really hard the first time. Then after I rescheduled, I thought I put too much pressure on myself so I relaxed a little bit. The night before the test, I thought I really should study, but I didn’t because I wouldn’t sleep. And I went in there and thought, ‘It’s going to happen. Whatever happens, happens.’ The second time was a breeze, honestly, because I learned what to look for.

Q: Now a certified EMT, what more can you do while volunteering with the department?

Schurr: I can be on a basic life support crew that needs a paramedic or an EMT. I’m still doing all my patient contacts with somebody watching me, and once I complete five, then they know that I’m competent to do it on my own.

Q: Are there opportunities to be able to shadow a paramedic on the call while you’re volunteering?

Schurr: Yeah, absolutely, we work with them. That’s what’s cool about our station is we work with them hand-in-hand. When we go on a call, there’s a paramedic and an EMT, and you get to see what they’re doing the whole time. And as a volunteer, when you ride in the back of the ambulance, you get to shadow them to help them. It’s very hands-on learning, which is what I love to do.