Norwich Regional Vocational Technical High School senior Kyle Caswell wasn’t up yet for school on the morning of Feb. 25, when his scanner radio sounded for a fire at Fireside Brick Oven Pizza in Gales Ferry.
Already a three-year veteran volunteer for the Gales Ferry Fire Co., Caswell, 17, also worked at that restaurant. He woke his mom to ask if he could call the restaurant owner. She told him that was the fire chief’s job. Caswell couldn’t respond to the call, both because he had to get ready for school and because rules prohibit minors from early-morning fire calls.
But the bio-tech lab major at Norwich Tech, who is also a nationally certified EMT, already had experienced fire and medical calls that came close to home in his Gales Ferry village in Ledyard. He once responded to a serious medical call for the father of a longtime friend.