IVFD volunteer pays it forward through service
From our weekly issue dated February 17, 2010
Andrea Steelman
An O“Brien resident whose life was saved by a firefighter early last year is now paying it forward by volunteering with Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD).
On Jan. 26, 2009, Andrea Steelman“s morning got off to a rough start. Her kids missed the school bus, so she took them in a Ford Bronco she borrowed from a friend, as her own vehicle was broken.
The Bronco was approaching Rough and Ready Creek when Steelman hit a patch of black ice on the bridge. The car slid 100 feet along a guardrail before hitting a concrete wall.
“It all happened very quickly,“ Steelman said. “It was scary.“
She hit her head during the collision and became unconscious. When she came to, the Bronco was hanging sideways. She looked out the passenger door and saw dirt — and the sky when she looked up. For all she knew, Steelman was under water.
“I didn“t know where I was,“ she said.
Panic set in as Steelman struggled to find her cellular telephone, and she started screaming. After a brief struggle, she stood up on the passenger seat and lifted the car door.
It was right around this time that a firefighter from Modesto, Calif. was driving by. He was on a fishing trip with a friend, and stopped to help Steelman in her darkest hour.
Steelman doubts that it was mere coincidence or happenstance that put that firefighter in the right place at the right time. She credits divine intervention for her rescue.
“It was just totally the Lord,“ she said.
Luckily, Steelman escaped the fateful crash without major injuries. But she did walk away with a newfound appreciation of the difference that firefighters make when it matters the most.
When IVFD kicked off its recruitment drive last year, Steelman was at a point in her life where she could volunteer her services. She had considered helping many times in the seven years she“s lived in the community, but family and other obligations prevented it.
Now that her children are older and in school, Steelman is better able to make the commitment. The fact that she lives across the street from the O“Brien Fire Station doesn“t hurt either.
“I“m pretty much at home or the station,“ she said.
She signed up to volunteer on the last day IVFD was recruiting, and was sworn in during the fire board“s Jan. 14 meeting.
And she“s glad she did.
“It just kind of seems natural,“ Steelman said. “I absolutely love it.“
Ever since, she has been training at the firefighting academy. Although she doesn“t want to be a firefighter, Steelman said that she“s gained a lot from learning about fire behaviors.
“I have no desire to run into a burning building,“ she said. “But I“m a lot less scared of fire than I was.“
As a member of IVFD“s support staff, Steelman already has responded to many calls. On one occasion, she directed traffic at 4 a.m. following a fire on Caves Hwy.
Helping people has become second nature to Steelman, who did home health care at 14 years old. She also boasts much experience taking care of relatives, and has many nurses in her family.
“That part has always been in me,“ she said.
Volunteering with IVFD has been rewarding in many ways for Steelman, who said that her long-term goal is to be a paramedic.
One day, she was walking through a store in Grants Pass. She still had on her jacket with IVFD markings, and overhead a little girl expressing excitement about seeing a female firefighter.
“That brought tears to my eyes,“ Steelman said.
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