Firefighters James Gaken and Nate Saarinen were officially hired by the Chelsea Area Fire Authority on Nov. 22 and they’ve known each other since high school.
Gaken, 20, is a fifth generation firefighter who graduated from Chelsea High School in 2014. Saarinen, 21, is the first firefighter in his family and a 2013 graduate of Chelsea High School.
Both grew up in Chelsea and attended the fire academy together attaining their Firefighter 1 and 2 and EMT certificates.
Both had been paid-on-call firefighters for CAFA before the board decided to add two more staff members to the authority. They tested for the positions and were hired last month.
Gaken said he’s been exposed to the fire service since he was a baby and in elementary school his dad, Matt Gaken, would take him to structure fires where he’d sit in the car and watch as the firefighters worked.
“I always wanted to help people,” Gaken said, adding, “the little kids look up to you as a role model.”
Saarinen said he was drawn to the fire service because of both the firefighting and the medical aspects of it. Both his mom and his sister are nurses so he grew up in a household where helping others was important.
Both firefighters said they are interested in learning more about the new active shooter training. Gaken would like to expand his knowledge of fire investigation and HAZMAT operations, while Saarinen is interested in rope rescue and vehicle extraction training.
Gaken says he really likes the aspects of fire science and would like to learn more about that as well.
In Chelsea, because of the diverse landscape, firefighters learn how to fight fires in city settings as well as in rural, farm settings. This is something that Gaken said he enjoys.
Saarinen said he likes the team aspects of the job. “Fire and medical, every call is different. It’s not like working in a factory and doing the same thing every day.”
Interim Chief Jon Ichesco said he hopes to be able to get the newest members of the authority more on-scene fire experience through an exchange program with the Ypsilanti Fire Department, which has many more fire calls than Chelsea.
The majority of the calls the CAFA firefighters work are medical or auto accidents.
With an exchange program, the interim chief would like them to learn teamwork and how to get along with other people. “As a probie,” he says, “Firefighters learn to toughen up and follow the chain of command. They learn how to think and learn and trust their partners.”
Ichesco said that firefighters are put in unique situations and see people at their worst. The ones who stay in the fire service find it to be their calling; those who don’t leave it pretty quickly.
Both firefighters will be on probation for six months.
