Post 53 at 53
by PAMELA DEY VOSSLER / photos by BAMBI RIEGEL | riegelpictureworks.com
Post 53 Executive Director Joe Larcheveque with the 2023-24 elected officers. first row from left: Lucy Calvillo, Joe, Jillian Slonieski, second row from left: Tristan Adams, Brendan Haidinger, Charlotte Volz, Kai Sparks
When the tones drop, they jump. And they’ve been doing it for 53 years, responding to that piercing alarm. Because while you may not think about them, they’re almost always thinking about you …and the unthinkable—the fall, the attack, the seizure, the cut, the burn, the shock, the pain, the crisis of any sort.
They are the 80 high school students, and the 50 adult EMTs who advise, mentor and support them, who make up Darien’s sole, all-volunteer ambulance corps, Post 53, the only student-run EMS organization in the nation. Their job? Save lives.
That’s why they’ve got you top of mind during the 90 hours they spend as a candidate, the 184 hours they spend on college-level coursework and the complex state exam they must pass to prove they’ve mastered the material required for their EMT certification. They think of you during the 24-hour shifts they spend at Post 53 HQ at Zero Ledge Road and throughout the countless hours more they devote biweekly to refresher training, post-call downloads, performance evaluations, peer reviews, mentoring and weekly meetings. It’s all so when you do think of them and make that 9-1-1 call, they are ready for you …as ready as any adult EMT, perhaps even more so given the culture, values and drive that surrounds all this effort.
Post 53 has three fully-equipped state-of-the-art ambulances, three supervisor flycars, and a fire standby/mass casualty bus responding 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to the more than 1,600 calls it receives each year. With an operating budget of $425,000 provided nearly entirely by the community, it is recognized as one of the finest emergency ambulance services in the country.
“We have an excellent relationship with the town but we are 100% community funded so that is a huge piece for us,” said Joe Larcheveque, who spends 40 hours each week as director of Post 53, the only paid position.
Post 53 members (from left): Oscar Barton, Kai Sparks, Tommy Branca, Rica Monaghan, Selby Molloy and Riley Cavanna
Post responds in teams of four plus a driver, arriving on scene after the police who are dispatched first. An adult supervisor joins every call. A paramedic comes when a more serious situation warrants it.
Posties, as they are called, begin a carefully choreographed system of advancement in eighth grade when they apply to join.
“We get about 80 to 90 applications a year,” said Joe, a seasoned and still active paramedic.
“We whittle that down to about 40,” he continued.
The 13-year-olds then take a first aid class taught by Post 53 seniors. Upon completion, they are evaluated and voted on by their peers based on academic performance, participation and interest. Approximately 20 pass into the next stage of training—candidacy, a 90-day period in which they devote nearly 100 hours to endless cleaning of the Post 53 building and getting to know the members.
If all has gone well, they’re next voted into membership, as freshmen, and advance to rider training where they learn about the equipment.
“If somebody asks for a piece of equipment, riders learn what it is so they can grab it,” explained Joe. “When they finally reach the point where they can ride on their first shift, they are just as much an integral part of that crew as anybody else,” he added.
If they pass this stage, they move on to EMT training their sophomore year—a ferocious schedule of twice weekly classes from 7pm to 10pm for six months plus seven eight-hour Saturday sessions.
During EMT training, riders become extras, if they’re excelling in class – which they all do. Extras assist EMTs with more clinically-based tasks such as taking blood pressure.
“At the end of the EMT course, they go for two rounds of state testing,” explained Joe of the written and practical exams they must pass.
Clear these hurdles and students receive their state C EMT certification. But no matter how well they do on the state exam, they must also have been on at least 20 calls as a rider, 20 as an extra and 20 as an C EMT before they move on. After EMT certification, members may also opt to train to become drivers once they turn 17 years old. But at every level, they progress at Post only upon receiving a thumbs up from the membership.
As EMTs, they commit to a minimum of 19 hours of primary ambulance duty per month, which does not include their off-ambulance responsibilities—fundraising, ordering supplies, managing the finances and the website, leading classes, disciplining members when necessary and everything it takes to run the place—from making sure the toilet paper is stocked and the sheets on the beds where they sleep during their shifts are changed each day, to organizing the annual Halloween Haunted House fundraiser.
…and all this is on top of school, sports and other extracurriculars. Plainly, it’s a huge commitment but they make it gladly, driven by the friendships they find there, the camaraderie of crisis situations shared, the dedication they all have to working as hard as they do, the confidence they develop through constant learning and the ability it gives them to help patients, their trust in each other and the pride in a job extraordinarily well done.
“I definitely was not aware of how much work goes into it but I feel like you’re taught that freshmen year. Then, the love for being here drives the work and makes it really easy to want to be here and to put in the work,” said Darien High School (DHS) senior Selby Molloy, Post’s outgoing vice president of student affairs who also works at the Darien Sport Shop and is attending Vanderbilt University next year on a pre-med track.
“Post made it very clear to me that you only get out of something what you put into it,” added Tommy Branca, a senior, who was officer in charge of medical supplies (as well as captain of the hockey and soccer teams) this past year. He also works at the Darien Sport Shop and will be attending Harvard next fall.
It’s tough, sure, but the harder it is, it seems, the better they do, and perhaps not surprisingly, it is a group of young people wildly wise beyond their years.
They know they can rise to any occasion.
“When I first came in, I was super introverted,” said DHS junior Kai Sparks who was just voted in as president of Post. “But being here kind of forces you to get out of that shell …Like on the ambulance, you have to make a connection with your patient and you can’t do that if you’re not willing to be open yourself,” he continued.
“I truly was the freshman that wouldn’t speak,” said Rica Monaghan, also a senior at DHS, who will be at Villanova next fall, on a pre-med track as well. But now, “I speak my mind. I’m determined. I love how Post lets us become the person that we are truly destined to be,” she added.
“I knew that if I could save a life I could stand up for myself and not be super shy and afraid like I was as a freshman,” said DHS junior Riley Cavanna, the newly elected officer of rank advancement and performance reviews.
They learn to trust each other and work as a team.
“Post really only works well because we all work as a team,” said Selby. “Everyone’s just looking out for the best for each other. We all want to succeed together,” she continued.
…and they understand priorities.
“I think Post teaches you a lot about what you value because when you’re scheduled for these 24-hour shifts, you really have to drop some things in your life, especially if you can’t find people to cover you,” said DHS sophomore Oscar Barton, a member of the DHS tennis and cross country teams who just earned his EMT certification and has had to skip practice from time to time for his Post commitment.
They are professional.
Though the volume and antics can ramp up a bit more than what Joe might like during down time at Post, “We understand too that with everything that we ask of them and everything that they do above and beyond my expectations, they’re still kids,” he said.
But when the call comes, it shifts on a dime.
“I feel like a lot of the times we get looked at like ‘Oh, they’re just kids. They can’t do this.’ In reality, when the tones drop here at Post, we go into complete business mode. Post really creates such a sense of responsibility,” added Rica of crews who also maintain strict confidentiality.
They listen, without judgment.
“You never know what’s going on with someone. Someone could be having a really tough time or really bad day and you would never know. Post has kind of opened me up to that,” said Rica of what she learned from patients and her efforts to develop rapport with them, a point of pride for all Posties.
They develop perspective.
“When you go on these calls, you learn that time isn’t guaranteed. You really just want to appreciate the time that you have now and not be worried about the little ifs and maybes but just be super present,” said Kai.
“I feel like seeing all these crazy big injuries and seeing these people be really hurt and seeing their families feel terribly, it’s made me realize that a lot of the things that I thought were important aren’t really important,” said Riley.
Bud Doble (center) with two early Post 53 adult volunteers
Founded in 1970 by Darien parent Bud Doble as a way to give teens a hands-on experience with the dangers of drugs and alcohol, Post began under a first aid tent with a converted telephone repair truck as an “ambulance” and a budget of $150. One year after it started, Post 53, which operated from 6pm to midnight, responded to 100 emergency calls. By 1976, they were the town’s “official” EMS service.
The first Post 53 “ambulance”
“Bud was a force of nature,” said Tom Mosher, DHS Class of ’76 who was at Post 53 under Doble. “He was the one who was politicking in the town and connecting with individuals to fundraise and set up the structure.”
“I’ve never met his equivalent.” he continued. “He had a sense of humor. But in so far as the Post was concerned, he was totally serious. He wouldn’t put up with nonsense. He instilled in everyone that the harder you work at it, the more successful we’re going to be,” Tom added. “And as soon as you divert your attention, that’s when things start to fall apart. He’s the one that held you accountable. He was the one that drove you to getting things done.”
It’s a value system that remains today, with countless lives saved and generations of graduates to show for it …doctors, nurses, entrepreneurs and fighter pilots, teachers, marines and more.
“It works here because it’s been inbred into the community for so long and now it’s adored. And these kids have proven it, over and over again for 53 years, that they can do this job,” said Joe.
It’s what happens when you give kids the opportunity, create the right culture, train them, trust them, mentor them then hold them responsible.
“Honestly, I don’t think any of us would be able to do this if we didn’t have the adults that we have. They’re all so well trained and they just know what they’re doing and they’re really great,” said Selby.
“Post 53 runs the way it does because of the collaboration between adults and kids,” agreed Courtney Haidinger, a newer adult EMT at Post who spends a minimum of 35 hours a month there, like all of the adult volunteers, covering calls for the kids while they are in school.
“Post 53 is very purposeful and we are united in our common purpose,” said Diane Schmidt-Fellner, head of the adult advisor group who has been an adult EMT at Post 53 for 20 years.
Especially when the tones drop.
To learn more about Post 53, its incredible purpose, history and how you might support it, visit post53.org
