For 19-year-old Madison “Maddie” Gaudette, going back to school after Labor Day is bittersweet. As well as saying goodbye to her family and friends in Southport and Boothbay, she says goodbye to her colleagues in Southport Fire Department.
Gaudette became a junior member at 16. When she turned 18, she took basic training and became a fully certified firefighter along with her Boothbay Region High School classmate Jake Brewer.
“I’ve helped out at the firehouse my whole life,” Gaudette said. Her father, Stephen Gaudette, is a lifelong firefighter. It’s about more than just fires, she said. “We respond to traffic control situations and car accidents. We’re here for lift assist if the ambulance needs help and we do go to fires, of course. We respond to 12 islands, including Squirrel Island, the Greens, and Boston Island, plus we go out if a boat gets into trouble. We don’t have an official boat but many of the firefighters are lobstermen so we have a plan for everything.”
Because she’s small, her equipment had to be specially sized for her. “It’s not too uncomfortable.