Episode 119: A Firefighter for UConn..and Beyond

UConn Deputy Fire Chief Chris Renshaw is involved in virtually every aspect of campus life. He is a key part of the Division of University Safety whose mission is to make sure the entire campus community is safe on a day-to-day basis. Chris is also heavily involved in special occasions like a Presidential visit and sporting events. When he’s not keeping UConn safe, he’s been known to travel around the country for the safety of others as he helps battle large forest fires. He also chatted with us about the long and proud history of the UConn Fire Department and how rare it is for a University to have its own department.

Link to Episode 119 at Podbean

Transcript

Mike: Welcome again to another episode of the UConn 360 podcast. Mike Enright from University Communications here, along with my wonderful co hosts, Izzy Harris and Kelsey Hall, also from University Communications, and it’s a real treat today to welcome to our podcast, Chris Renshaw, who’s the Deputy Chief of the UConn Fire Department here in Storrs. Chris is a 2001 UConn undergraduate. He’s also got a master’s degree from UConn. So he’s a double Husky. And we’re going to get right into it because we’ve got a lot of things we could read Chris’s bio and that would probably take the entire podcast and we would never get to him. So, Chris, welcome. Thanks for joining us today.

Chris: Thank you for having me.

Mike: Tell us a little bit about, the UConn Fire Department, how it operates, and how it fits into the overall, campus safety operation.

Chris: Yeah, absolutely. The UConn Fire Department is just celebrating its 125th anniversary back in 2023, several months ago. A long history of service to the university, dating all the way back to Storrs Agricultural School, where it was a department that was run off of staff and faculty responding to the structures that were on campus and has morphed over the last 125 years to where it is now, which is a full time career professional fire department with two stations, one on the Storrs campus and the second one in Farmington on the UConn Health campus.

There are currently 47 members from fire chief down to firefighter, firefighter, EMT, firefighter, paramedic, and we respond to about 6, 000 calls for service a year between those two stations. The men and women that make up the department are trained in structural firefighting, outdoor. brush fire, wildland fire. They do technical rescue, high and low angle, water rescue, confined space rescue, hazardous materials technicians with the over 1,000 laboratories we have across the university infrastructure. Responding to those chemical hazards, provides a great insurance policy to not only make sure that people are safe, but also for the research themselves, research projects and the researchers themselves.

Emergency medical services, so everyone is an EMT, and we have paramedics that serve at the UConn Farmington campus. And also, we have a full fire marshal unit that houses the university fire marshal, the deputy fire marshal, and fire inspectors who have jurisdiction over every campus throughout the state.

Izzy: So, how does the UConn Fire Department specifically operate within the overall campus safety

Chris: Yeah, we’re one d partment in a collection of departments within the university’s safety division. That includes the police department, emergency communications, the folks that answer the 911 calls, the office of emergency management, environmental health and safety, and a business services component.

Izzy: You guys are busy, busy, busy, huh?

Chris: Yeah.

Kelsie: So tell us a little bit about your background. Lots of kids say they want to be a firefighter when they grow up. I know I said that, of course, but here I am. And how did you become one?

Chris: I grew up wanting to kind of hold the torch to what my grandfather and his brothers had set as a standard for my brother and my cousins, being part of the greater, Greatest Generation, those who served in World War II, to give service above self and to do something for the greater good.

I had wanted to fight wildland fire ever since I was a little kid. In 1988, I watched on the news Yellowstone National Park burn, and it was, it was the central focus of the newscast for that summer. How wildfire was decimating this national park, and the people that were responding They reminded me, I think, in retrospect, of the sacrifices that the Greatest Generation did.

This mobile army of men and women who were camping in primitive conditions and fighting wildfire in a national park, in a backdrop of the mountains and the wildlife, and saving this crown jewel of America. And that really struck a chord with me. And at the time, I was really super interested in being outdoors and exploring, spending my summers in the Adirondack Park in New York state.

And I thought the way to get to that was by studying natural resources, going to school for forestry. My grandfather was also a volunteer firefighter in Fairmount, New York. But, the structural side of things was never what I had set out to do. It was strictly being outdoors, fighting fire hands on. That representation of the American West meets the might of American workforce.

And that’s The path that I went on was to really kind of focus on natural resources, which brought me to attending Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York for a semester. Right before I left for Paul Smith’s, I spent some time with a professor here at UConn, Jack Barkley, who passed away last year. And he was the head of the Wildlife, Conservation Research Center that was housed in the Young Building on the Storrs campus and conversations with him as well as another professor here, Tom Abbott, over in biology, who’s still a professor here.

Maybe you’ve had him as a professor. You got to get through his initial biology class if you want to go anywhere in UConn and with a degree in science. And the two of them really kind of hyped me up on what opportunities there may be if I came to UConn. So I transferred here to UConn in, 1996. And I studied wildlife.

I transitioned from forestry to wildlife. And in that time I met another fantastic professor, Morty Ortega, who had come here from another university. And they really opened up my eyes to the degree in natural resources, looking at things holistically, well rounded, that one, aspect influences another, that if you want to manage forestry, you manipulate the vegetation.

When you manipulate the vegetation, you manipulate the wildlife, soils, water, everything is collectively combined. Where I’m going with this is, I started seeing that relationship in other places. And to be a wildland firefighter in the state of Connecticut at the time, you had to be either on a volunteer fire department or work for the department of, environmental protection, the DEP, it’s now the DEEP, but at the time it was the DEP.

So I said, you know what, that’s what I want to do. I should go find out what this path is about being a volunteer firefighter. So I went to the local fire department in the area where I lived and I knocked on the door and they said, yeah. And that’s how I ended up becoming a career structural firefighters because of that knock on the door as the path to become a wildland firefighter in tandem.

This is my 25th year of serving as an emergency wildland firefighter, firefighter for the U S forest service. So I was able to keep my career here at UConn as a structural firefighter and. in the summertime being detailed to fires all over the country and in Canada to fulfill that original drive back when I was a kid.

Kelsie: That was awesome.

Mike: I think it’s interesting that, I think a lot of people around UConn think that, It’s commonplace for a university to have a fire department. I’ve worked at three different institutions. The first two had, including UConn, the first two had fire departments. And then, when I got to the third one, they used the city department. Why do you think it is, other than history and tradition, that UConn Has its own fire department. And what, there’s only like seven or eight universities in the country that have them, right?

Chris: That’s right. It’s a, an exclusive list. And on that list, interesting enough is Purdue. So there, I think there was a little side bet going on between fire chiefs as to the outcome of the men’s basketball NCAA championship tournament. The history of the UConn fire department. I think it just kind of grew with the university itself. So if you go back to the late 1800s, what the landscape might have been for Mansfield, it was pretty rural, and that had a lot to do with why the college, I chose this location from the Storrs brothers, but the, the building over time, the infrastructure of UConn, as you know, with over 400 buildings, this is a very urban environment with a daytime population of about 40,000 people in a town of Mansfield, who has grown at the same rate, but differently than the infrastructure of UConn that the UConn fire department having priority.

Over the buildings and the people that were on this small campus, I think the level of service and as an insurance policy for business continuity, for life safety, for the structures themselves and the research projects, just became this very well defined, successful operation that has existed with the tremendous growth of UConn, particularly in Storrs.

That list of other universities, includes places like Notre Dame, Princeton, the University of Alaska Fairbanks. So it’s a very small number. But the other universities and colleges throughout the country all exist within a jurisdiction of a much larger fire department. So for example, Syracuse University, they don’t have their own fire department because the Syracuse fire department, covers them..

Izzy: So speaking of UConn, being a firefighter on a college campus, I imagine is an interesting experience to say the least. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience and like, you know, any like funny stories or memorable stories that stick out to you?

Chris: The first thing that popped in my mind, I want to say sometime around 2012, a gentleman pulled up on the front ramp of the fire department here in Storrs in a Subaru Forester with New Jersey plates and banged down the door asking for help. And of course, we all thought there must be a medical emergency or something’s happening.

A 250 pound adult alligator in the back of his car that had perished and he didn’t know what to do with it, but he had heard that the vet lab here on campus accepted animals for, uh, necropsy. to determine what the cause of death may be. Wow. And had stopped at gas stations along the route from New Jersey to Storrs to buy ice bags to put on the alligator.

And so we, as a fire department, assisted with moving this, alligator. Very unique patient from the back of a Forester into the Vet Lab, here on campus. I was not expecting that. Yeah, that’s exactly what the takeaway was for all of us. Like, I can’t believe I’m doing this right now. But, what a, what a cool service to provide.

Kelsie: Did they ever find out what happened to the alligator? Or you don’t know?

Chris: I don’t know.  No, I’m not sure it’s truly legal to have an alligator. I’m not sure what the New Jersey laws are.

But yeah, it’s a hard question to answer, only because I think the vast majority of the calls that the men and women of the UConn Fire Department go on are from women. are with folks who are having probably one of the worst moments of their lives. So it’s those little breaks that we get that are unusual, that kind of uplift your spirits.

Kelsie: I am interested in learning more about how UConn’s fire department trains. I know firefighters do extensive trainings. throughout the year. Do you all like go to specific trainings or do you yourself conduct them? I’d like to know a little bit more about that.

Chris: Absolutely. That’s a great question. So the training that we have for, uh, UConn firefighters is pretty extensive. In fact, just about every day is a training day. We have, State and federal requirements that are primarily OSHA driven, that there are basic things that we need to cover, blood borne pathogens, what we do to protect ourselves from, hazardous materials, protecting our airways, down to basic vehicle operation, things like that, that are those check the box trainings that we have to have on an annual basis. And then we enrich that in training environment with a lot of online opportunities. The, the idea of the progression of the fire service over the years and the influence of technology. Our ability to access fire services. trainings that are either YouTube based or video based or have some sort of online component has really opened up the window of opportunities for us to learn skills.

Not only the skills that we utilize in a local level, But also alternatives that are coming from all over the country from other fire departments that are like, Hey, this is a unique way of doing something. We have access to that where before this level of technology we didn’t. And I’m sure that’s the same with just about every profession.

Our firefighters, have our specific certifications like, you know, EMT or paramedic, and those have state and federal, drivers that, that make us have to meet training requirements. And then there are the situational things like extrication. How do we remove patients from vehicles that are, involved in some sort of accident, the farm equipment on campus, electrical hazards, gas hazards, all of those rope work, et cetera.

We have to make sure that we’re being proficient in keeping up with that. So those trainings take a. It is a good part of the day, and we recycle those and we allow our firefighters to come up with ideas of their own and, and bring those to the table. We look for outside instructors to come in and provide guidance so that we don’t get trapped in just our own way of, of doing things.

Mike: I think we have an interesting connection here. We, obviously have, uh firefighter and we, uh, our cohost Kelsey is the daughter of a firefighter. Her mom is, Natalie Seebecker, who’s a lieutenant in the Willimantic Fire Department down the road. Maybe a little talk between you two about what, you know, what’s it like to be a first responder family and what are the challenges and, you know, what, just what does it feel like?

Kelsie: Yeah. So growing up, my mom started professional firefighting when I was in kindergarten and I just found out Chris and my mom actually went to, what is it called? The…

Chris: Connecticut Fire Academy.

Kelsie: So, um, when I was little, I just remember being so proud of my mom and I would brag about her to everyone. And I still do today. Mom, if you’re listening, you’re awesome.

Mike: I hope she is.

Kelsie: She will be. But I just her schedule is so different than typical parents. My mom works two days, two nights, four off. So she would work 7 a. m. to 5. 30 for the days, and then 5. 30 to 7. 30 a. m. And then she would have four days off, but during those four days off, you know she’s doing overtime, she’s doing training, so many, So many things, but my mom loved firefighting, and I’m sure, if you have kids, they’re probably very proud of you.

Chris: I hope so. I mean, that’s the goal, right? But it, I’m sure you can, you can attest that there was some sacrifice. There were some times in your childhood where mom wasn’t there, right? And that’s probably tough. birthdays and holidays. Mom had to,

Kelsie: Holidays are really rough.

Chris: Mom had to go to work, and I’m sure that you like my kids do, they understood, but not, not totally, right?

Chris: Yeah. When you’re young, it’s kind of rough.

Kelsie: Like, come on mom, you can’t go to this award, award ceremony for me, like, it’s just one day, but it really is tough. You have to find people to cover your shifts. You, it’s not just like, oh, I’m calling out. Like, you are saving people’s lives, and you have an actual, Real duty to citizens of your town, the city, and here at UConn.

Chris: That’s right. Yeah, and, your mom handled it with grace. I know it because your mom is a tough person. She’s tough. She’s tough on me, but I am who I am because of her. That’s what a great, great mom to have for sure. Yeah. Yep. Your mom and I went to the academy together. We graduated group 34 in 2005.

It’s been awesome. to see her on calls when UConn and Willimantic do respond to the same fires. It’s been, it’s been pretty cool to see that, that growth in her success in her career as well.

Kelsie: Yeah, same. I went to her pinning ceremony when she became a lieutenant. It was a big thing. Everybody, town reporters went to the town hall in Wilmantic and everyone was taking pictures of her. She’s really done some great things and I know she’s influenced a lot of people in Wilmantic and I should have been a firefighter, but I mean, here I am podcasting for UConn and there’s still this time.

My mom started when she was later in life, but. You know what? I could still switch it up. I can even become a volunteer firefighter if I really want to.

Chris: That’s right. Absolutely.  Yeah. At the end of the day, I know your mom was successful because of the way you’re talking about her.

Kelsie: Yeah. Yeah. That’s very true.

Kelsie: She’s great. But enough about my mom. To go back a little bit, you know, some days you’re responding to happy moments, And some days you’re responding to some of the worst moments in people’s lives. Can you talk to us a little bit about the Whitney House fire?

Chris: Sure. Yeah, absolutely. That call came in on an early February morning and our primary focus was to make sure that there was nobody inside that house had been buttoned up and was not occupied, but given the status of the structure, the age of it being as old as it and the historic value to it, you never know if someone was inside and something had happened, whether it was a facilities person working on any of the elements, in like the HVAC system that kept it running, or if there was a student in there or just, you know, primary focus is life safety.

So responding there, the men and women that were on duty that day, not only from UConn, but also the mutual aid that we had, we had folks from Mansfield and Ashford, Coventry, Tolland, Willimantic, Windham came in to support us to make sure that the, the building was clear. And once we realized it was, that there were no victim inside, Trying to limit the extent of the damage that the fire was causing.

One of the unique things that we’ve found, as a positive, upbeat takeaway, only from a firefighter’s perspective, was the structure of the roof had these heavy timbers. From trees that grew during the Revolutionary War period, right? So that was the timber, this fine grain wood that you can’t see at all in any modern construction.

So that was one of the, the challenges too, was opening up the roof to vent it, was encountering this lumber from back when Washington was the general of the Continental Army, right? So, uh, pretty neat stuff, but, yeah. The Whitney House fire was a success from our perspective, limiting the amount of damage, no one got hurt, and ultimately the, the decision by the university for its fate, we supported.

But, our folks sacrificed and put their lives at risk to give the opportunity to make that choice, and that is something that we’re super proud of.

Mike: Chris, the university has a lot of unique events, athletic events, commencement, visits from prominent officials. We had President Biden on campus a few years ago. I assume the, the UConn Fire Department is very involved in those types of events.

Chris: Yeah, absolutely. Those special events, they occupy quite a bit of our operational tempo throughout the year. We have probably about 130 additional assignments because of those events. We are embedded with athletics. Some of it is because of our rapid response and providing good customer service for not only the attendees to any athletic events, but the actual athletes and the officials themselves. The structures that they’re having, these Athletic events in, like Gampel Pavilion, have fully functional alarm and suppression systems that, if every time, the hot dog cart in the corner boiled water or had a smoke condition, shut down an actual televised game, it would be a, an issue.

So our folks on, on standby to those events, not only supporting, emergency medical services issues, but also the, continuity of the games themselves is, is important. There’s also some regulation and rules for levels of NCAA games where we’re actually required to be there. So we provide that service.

Commencement, most important weekend of the academic year. Couldn’t be UConn unless you were graduating students. Our folks are at every one of those venues for all the events, making sure not only life safety and, and the buildings are taken care of, but also occupancy issues with the fire marshal’s office, making sure that, the experience is not only successful for the university, but safe for everybody that’s visiting the campus as well.

High profile, uh, Events like Joe Biden coming to the Storrs campus. That was a career pinnacle moment for me. I got the privilege really of working with the secret service and other university safety folks, as well as like the university events and conference services and university communications coming together to manage that event.

But the creating. The operational plans, working with the Secret Service for everything from the helicopters landing on campus, having a Marine One actually land on campus and all the support for that, the motorcade from the landing zone to the Dodd Center, the Dodd Center presentation, all of that, the fire department had a critical role in making sure that All of that coordination was safe, the contingency plans, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m forever grateful for having experienced that, although it was absolutely one of the most stressful times of my career, was making sure that that all went off without a hitch.

Mike: Well, I know, Chris, speaking for myself personally, and I think everybody at UConn, we really appreciate the UConn Fire Department. I think all of us have, been affected, have used, have benefited, whether a small way or a big way, so, thank you to the men and women of the UConn Fire Department.

Chris: We appreciate that. Absolutely. It’s our pleasure to provide this service.

Mike: And thank you to everybody for listening today to the UConn 360 podcasts. And we look forward to you listening to our next episode.