By Quincey Reese
The Tribune-Review
GREENSBURG, Pa. — Some of Michael Meyer’s fondest memories of his time at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg were spent at the Southwest Greensburg Volunteer Fire Station.
Meyer, 28, grew up in Green Tree, just outside of Pittsburgh, and started serving the Green Tree Volunteer Fire Company in 2014.
He joined the Southwest Greensburg department after enrolling at Pitt-Greensburg in 2015 — occasionally spending a night at the station after a late emergency call.
Meyer further simplified the process in 2016, moving into the station’s living quarters as part of its free housing program for local college students. He lived there until his graduation in 2019, rushing out the door to answer fire calls in between classes and study sessions.
“I woke up in the morning, went to class,” Meyer said. “I would come back in between classes and study, run a couple of calls if they came in.
“Overall experience was awesome because you got to bond with other firefighters — your brothers, your sisters.”
Nestled among higher education schools including Pitt-Greensburg, Seton Hill, Saint Vincent and Westmoreland County Community College, the Southwest Greensburg department started its live-in program more than a dozen years ago to recruit more members, fire Chief Bill Wright Jr . said.
It was inspired by similar programs at fire departments in Indiana and State College, he said.
“It’s not earth-shattering,” Wright said. “I would say off the top of my head, I can think of maybe five where we actually got service out of them for the couple years they went to college. Most of them, they aren’t from the area. They were firefighters wherever they came from.”
Most of the former live-in firefighters have moved back to their hometowns, discontinuing their service upon graduation, Wright said.
But for a small-town fire station, anything helps.
“You get three or four years out of a trained firefighter. It’s better than nothing,” Wright said.
The living arrangements are simple but sufficient: a dorm-style room with bunk beds, a private bathroom, a lounge area with a TV, WiFi, a gym and a full commercial kitchen.
But the best part of the arrangement for Meyer was always having company.
“Living up there, you have the guys coming in and out throughout the day. You can get a crew out the door quickly all the time. It was awesome,” he said. “You learn a lot of how to work with other people, and it was overall a great experience. We worked really well as a team, formed friendships and were basically all family.”
Meyer fondly recalls opening the station’s garage doors during movie nights in the summer, playing video games in the lounge and organizing in-house training sessions. The department let him prioritize his classes over calls, and his professors were lenient with tardiness caused by responding to fires.
The fire station receives about 1,200 calls per year, Wright said, but the daily call load varies.
“Sometimes it’s one or two a day. Sometimes it’s zero. Sometimes it’s 10,” he said.
Calls that came in overnight also were unpredictable, Meyer said. There could be as many as four calls in a night or none at all.
Meyer could easily miss hearing the county 911 radio system playing in the next room, but the flashing lights and bell that blared throughout the station during an emergency call got him out of bed quickly.
Balancing college and firefighting helped Meyer develop leadership and time management skills he still relies on today — all while saving money on living expenses.
“If you like getting out in your community, helping your community, it teaches you so many skills,” he said. “It’s worth doing.”
Though Meyer moved to Allegheny County upon graduation, he still makes a trip to Southwest Greensburg every so often to spend a night on call at the fire station.
The department has about 42 active members and one local college student who submitted an application for the live-in program this year, Wright said. But he is always looking for more hands.
“There’s never enough,” he said.
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