The 911 call came first, a lifeline connecting a good Samaritan with a poised dispatcher. The moment ignited a staged emergency, but it felt like so much more.

Listen to the 911 simulation call

Next came the sirens, blaring and urgent. As 16 Hamden High School students watched anxiously behind yellow caution tape, the Hamden Fire Department, the Hamden Police Department and emergency medical technicians from American Medical Response raced into action.

Two passengers, one in front and the other in back, were trapped inside a crumpled sedan. As police secured the perimeter, firefighters used powerful hydraulic tools to cut through a door and raise the roof to get inside the car.

At the same time, EMTs rolled out a stretcher, a spine board and other gear to help remove the passengers. During the extrication, Hamden Fire Department Lt. Brian Gagnon told wide-eyed Hamden High students what was happening in real-time during this master class on teamwork and trust.

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For Quinnipiac, the rescue demonstration highlighted an opportunity to partner with local public safety professionals during a free, one-week program to teach and train Hamden’s leaders of tomorrow on the Mount Carmel Campus. Quinnipiac’s Department of Public Safety and the Yale New Haven Hospital Center for EMS also shared their expertise.

A dream come true

The public safety course, a dream of Hamden Fire Department Capt. Julio Lopes, culminated with a graduation ceremony on July 19, but not before students learned about rewarding careers in firefighting, law enforcement, emergency medical services and other related professions.

The idea for the program came into focus this spring after Lopes had a conversation with Janelle Chiasera, the former dean of the School of Health Sciences, at a banquet to honor new EMTs. Becca Lucas ’06, MBA ’24, who serves as a Quinnipiac EMS faculty adviser and works at Hartford HealthCare, also played a key role in coordinating the public safety class.

For Lopes, a chance meeting changed everything.

“I told Janelle it was my dream to get every student CPR certified before they graduated and she thought it was a wonderful idea,” said Lopes, the Fire Department's training and EMS officer. “The discussion also came up because we're losing members in the fire service and the other public safety services. But if you get someone CPR certified, they become EMT certified, they become a paramedic and hopefully, they’ll end up in one of our public safety fields.

“I love just throwing ideas out because this is a dream. So you never know who is in the audience, who is listening and she happened to be in the audience that day. Kudos goes to her for inviting us to the Quinnipiac campus,” Lopes added.

During the week, students learned about public safety through classroom instruction and hands-on interactions, including CPR and first aid training, handling a high-pressure water hose and discovering the sophisticated tools of the Fire Department's mobile command vehicle and armored vehicle.

David Vargas, a 17-year-old Hamden High senior, proudly wore a fluorescent green police safety vest during the extrication scenario.

“I’m learning a lot. We get to know the different departments and see how they interact with people and how fast they do their work in dangerous situations,” Vargas said. “It’s amazing watching the fire department work on a damaged vehicle with people inside. I really like all of it, but I want to be a police officer when I grow up.”

A commitment to the future

For Bethany Zemba, vice president for strategy and community relations and chief of staff at Quinnipiac, the experience was invaluable for these committed students. “Quinnipiac University is excited to partner with the Hamden town and community departments to create this opportunity for Hamden High School students interested in careers in public safety,” she said.

“This summer experience exemplifies our commitment to community engagement and education,” Zemba added. “We are excited to offer students hands-on activities and training sessions that will provide valuable insights and practical skills in emergency medical, police and fire services.”

For Fire Department Chief Jeffrey Naples, the week-long experience was a perfect introduction to public safety and public service.

“We are extremely excited to be presenting the first-ever free summer public safety program for Hamden High School students. This is a joint effort between town and community departments offering education and awareness to students with an interest in pursuing careers in public safety,” Naples said. “Our goal is to create a more resilient community through education and awareness while providing a path for our youth to follow in these noble professions.”

For HPD Sgt. Scott Jason, who was named the Hamden Elks Police Officer of the Year in 2018, the course was a fun and informative way to introduce the Hamden High teens to public safety careers.

“This is a great program for kids who are interested in the police, fire, or EMS, even if they aren’t sure which direction they’d like to go,” said Jason, who worked closely with school resource officers Vincent DeStefanis and Christian Kaplan during the week-long training.

“We did a lot of classroom work first to give them the basics and then we went outside to do the hands-on activities and see how we do things and how we work together. I thought everything really went well. The kids seemed to enjoy it.”

After the extrication drill with the crumpled car, HPD Chief Edward Page Reynolds spoke to the students about leadership. An ordained minister who was sworn in as Hamden’s first Black police chief earlier this year, Reynolds addressed his young congregants in a baritone voice that was immediately forceful, yet nurturing.

“You’re part of this elite team that have people squared away. So stay out of trouble. Be a leader. You tell the group what to do, don’t let the group tell you what to do,” Reynolds said. “Cops are leaders. It’s just instinctive. We’re just not going to leave. It’s ingrained. It’s in our psyche. We don’t follow the group. The group follows us. Keep your eyes on the prize. Stay focused.”

For Chelsea Brooks, an emergency medical technician with American Medical Response in New Haven, the program was a flashback to her teenage years.

“I took an EMT class in high school in New Haven, so every time I participate in something like this, I just really appreciate the outreach to the kids,” Brooks said. “It’s important to show them the work we do. Everybody knows a firefighter. Everybody knows a police officer. But for me, being an EMT, having the kids see what we do and what it looks like for us to work with each other, that’s the key.”