Caldwell: Varied opportunities at fire and rescue service
Robert Caldwell was intrigued by the 23-foot Defender Class boat he saw on a trailer at the Charlotte Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services headquarters.
It looked like a phenomenal piece of equipment for a small town. His curiosity led him to a department open house in 2022, where he talked to the chief.
“Next thing I knew, I had a pager,” he said.
These days, Caldwell is a marine specialist with the department. He also serves as the treasurer.
“We’re lucky to have highly trained medical people, many of whom were trained at the University of Vermont,” he said.
Caldwell said the fire side of the department is made up of volunteers while the EMS side is paid.
“One aspect that I appreciate is the desire to be cross-trained,” he said. “It’s important in a small town to have versatility.”
Caldwell grew up in a Coast Guard town on the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence River and summered on the Thousand Islands. Watching the Coast Guard as a youngster, he wanted to learn those skills. He and his family volunteered for search and rescue under the Coast Guard Auxiliary before he officially joined the force and spent four years doing search and rescue.
Caldwell’s career in higher education fundraising started when he went to work for his high school. He was an English teacher and worked in the alumni relations office. From there, he went on to fundraising jobs at St. Lawrence, Dartmouth, Bucknell and Champlain College, where he served as vice president before retiring during COVID.
Caldwell also worked for an alumni engagement software company called Graduway. He noted that in the United States, alumni engagement is centered around a person’s graduating class and often takes place at reunions or football games. In other parts of the world, engagement is based on profession and Graduway was developed as a way of gathering alumni in particular fields on the theory that people are more likely to do business with those with whom they have commonalities.
Charlotte Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services averages over 1,000 calls a year, an amount which has doubled in the last 10 years. Most of those are medical calls. This year, the marine rescue service recorded roughly a dozen rescues.
Caldwell noted that the group’s activity on the water has increased but he believes there are more incidents which were resolved by self-help. In addition to the Defender Class boat, the group has a smaller Zodiak. As the weather gets colder, they begin cold-water training for ice rescues.
Caldwell hopes people will be careful when they head out on the lake, noting that foul weather can come up quickly. He is always thankful when people call to report things they’ve seen, although he remembers a conscientious observer who reported an overturned kayak that turned out to be a log. “At the end of the day, we’re glad to have those calls,” he said.
Caldwell and his family moved to Charlotte in 2018, shortly after he started working at Champlain College. In his spare time, he enjoys watching his kids play soccer, reading, taking care of the house, listening to podcasts while mowing the lawn and playing the bagpipe, a talent he picked up in military school.
Caldwell estimates he has spent over 300 hours training with fire and rescue and another 500 with Vermont E911 and dispatch. “I’ve learned so much,” he said, “and I continue to do so.
The experience has instilled in him a deep respect and regard for people in emergency services and law enforcement.
“These services are like a silent safety blanket around each one of us,” he said. “They are oftentimes unnoticed until in time of need.”
Caldwell said it’s important that people know that when they dial 9-1-1, someone will answer the call and help them in their moment of crisis.
“We need more people to lend a hand,” he said. “There are opportunities to become involved at a level that works for any individual.”