NJ's student-athlete firefighters balance school, sports and saving lives

Joey Petrucci got an 89 on his final exam from Passaic County's Public Safety Academy. His father, also named Joe Petrucci, couldn't help but tease him.

"In all your years of school, I've never seen a grade that good from you," the elder Petrucci told his son. "He said, 'I enjoy it.' Maybe that's the trick."

A Vernon High School senior and three-sport athlete, Joey followed family tradition to the firehouse – and wound up with a long-term life plan.

He's among a select group of New Jersey high school students who pour their time into both athletics and volunteering as first responders. The student-athletes balance multiple demanding passions that require time and precision − with little margin for error.

"Usually the fire truck leaves the station within five minutes, so if you're not at the station, you're done," joked Randolph High School senior Tyler Zepp, a firefighter who's also a central defender on his soccer team. "The more calls I went on, I loved it. I loved responding. I loved the public events. I thought I could really get into this, and enjoy 50-some odd years, however long my career would be."

Petrucci's stepfather, Mike Taylor, is a volunteer firefighter in Vernon. Father Joe Petrucci is a volunteer emergency medical technician at Glenwood Pochuck Volunteer Ambulance Corps in Sussex who was also part of the first Vernon High School boys volleyball team – another activity he shares with his son. His stepmom, Ericka Petrucci, works as a 911 dispatcher in West Milford and is a former captain at Upper Greenwood Lake Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

Petrucci's family isn't an outlier. Only 8.3% of New Jersey fire departments are staffed by career officers, according to New Jersey Division of Fire Safety statistics. The rest are volunteers, or a combination of both.

"I was born to do this," said Petrucci, a kicker and punter for the Vikings football team. He's also a bowler and an outside hitter on the Vernon volleyball team that reached the NJAC final on May 20.

"I've been around the firehouse since I was like 5. Everyone was a volunteer somewhere. We do the exact same thing (paid firefighters and EMTs) do, only we don't get paid for it. We do it for the community."

Studying to save lives

Becoming a state-certified firefighter requires a college-level class, with more than 200 hours of instruction over about five months. Petrucci takes four high school classes each day so he can leave after lunch, have time to do homework and, usually, attend a team practice – before heading to Passaic County Community College's Public Safety Academy in Wayne.

Vernon High School gave Petrucci special permission to follow the team bus to road games in his own car, so he can also get to the introductory firefighter course on time. He talks to his dad when he gets up at 5:30 a.m. and texts him when he returns home after class around 11:30 p.m.

In Passaic County, Firefighter 1 meets for at least three hours on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. There is also an additional hour of what Program Coordinator Michael Wanklin called "practical training," an opportunity to work on the previous week's hands-on skills before evening classes.

Wanklin detailed the 36-chapter, 1,400-page textbook, plus an online program with homework. In addition to a 100-question written exam, students also have to pass a nine-station practical that requires demonstration of firefighting skills. Hazardous-materials training is also required, with two more written tests.

"That's what kills a lot of people, that hands-on (part), a lot of labor and a lot of time," said Zepp, who will finish classes at the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy on June 10, five days before he graduates from Randolph.

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"From soccer practice, I was able to stay fit, stay athletic, have that stamina and use my young age to my advantage. (Soccer) helped with teamwork, leadership, how to respect hierarchy."

Petrucci and the other 23 students who passed the latest PCCC course, ranging in age from 17 to 50, received copies of their Firefighter 1 and hazmat certificates on May 23. That all has to be verified by the state to receive official certification for the students be able to work – or continue to volunteer – as firefighters.

Petrucci will already be off to college when the class formally graduates in November. He's planning to study fire science at Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts – where he also intends to play football for head coach Steve Croce, a 30-year career firefighter in Waterbury, Connecticut.

"He's very motivated and very dedicated. I think his involvement in sports has a lot to do with that," said Wanklin, a volunteer firefighter in Bloomingdale whose daughter, Kathleen, is a captain.

"He's a good student. He listened. He learned well. He's the example of a good result."

Few career firefighters in New Jersey

Jefferson senior Parker Turton also followed in his parents' footsteps, volunteering for the first-aid squad and then the fire department. He took the EMT course at 15, even though he had to wait almost year to be able to ride on the ambulance. To become a firefighter, Turton went through the Morris County academy with a few friends.

Turton balances being a Falcons shooting guard and second baseman with a 12-hour Saturday shift on Jefferson's first-aid squad and Tuesday night meetings with Jefferson Township Fire Company No. 1 in Oak Ridge. His twin brother, Dayton Turton, is also a volunteer EMT.

Turton starts school at 7 a.m., and athletic practices can go until 4:30 p.m. On game days, he's there even later. But if there's a fire call, even in the middle of the night, Turton responds to the station on Milton Road in Oak Ridge, gets his gear and goes out with a crew.

Since Turton is 18 years old, he can do the same things as other volunteers. He was one of many firefighters called in to battle the Kanouse wildfire in West Milford, which spread across more than 1,000 acres in mid-April.

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A self-described "engineering type of guy (who) likes the vehicles," Zepp estimated he responded to at least 100 of Randolph Township Fire Company No. 5's 250 calls last year. He is going to study public policy and service at the University of Scranton.

Turton originally wanted to become a nurse but now plans to study criminal justice at County College of Morris this fall. He hopes to be a police officer.

"It's too late to turn back now. I'm not going to stop," Turton said. "There's a call every day, every other day. There's car accidents. There's brush fires. There's activated fire alarms. There's always something. I'm just super busy. You've got to make time. I could respond to a call at any time of day. If there's a call after my game, or in the middle of the night, I go."

Jane Havsy is a storyteller for the Daily Record and DailyRecord.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today.

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This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ student-athlete firefighters balance sports and saving lives