TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5A
Students squashes flames for free
Aaron Showalter/Kansan
Josh Magaha, Basehor junior, spends about 30 hours per week volunteering at the Fairmount Township Fire Department in Basehor. "It's an adrenaline rush to sit in a house with flames around you," he said.
By Vonna Koemanyvong
vkeomanyvong@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
At 4:54 p.m. Friday, the Fairmount Township Fire Department in Basehor received a medical emergency call.
Grabbing a pair of latex gloves, Basehor junior Josh Magaha hops into a fire truck with four other men.
Five minutes later, they find a woman in her mid-20s lying on a sofa with severe lower-back pain. Magaha puts an oxygen mask over her mouth and takes her vitals. When the local emergency medical service comes, he helps the woman onto a stretcher and into the ambulance.
Although this may seem like a day's work for Magaah, it's not. He and 30 other residents from Basehor, about five miles northwest of Bonner Springs, spend their free time as volunteer firefighters.
Receiving a paycheck does not matter as long as he can help people,he said.His father and grandfather also volunteering at the department,making Magaha a third-generation firefighter.
"We do the same thing regular firefighters do except their training is stricter, and they get paid," said Magaah, who lives in Leavenworth.
"There's just something in my blood," Magaha said. "It's like a drug in a sense that you're addicted to it. It's an adrenaline rush to sit in a house with flames around you."
His father, Chuck Magaha assistant chief of the Fairmount Township Fire Department, said his son had wanted to be a firefighter since he was little.
"Since I didn't have a babysitter, I would take Josh and his brother to the fire station when they were younger," Magaha's dad said. "As he got older, he would always ask me to take him with me to put out grass fires."
Magaha takes 12 hours of classes, works about 16 hours as a paid personal trainer for KU Fit and volunteers about 30 hours at the fire department each week.
Jake Harrison, a fellow volunteer, said Magaha was passionate about volunteer fire fighting.
"Even though he didn't have to get medical training, he went to EMT school for a year to get certified," Harrison said.
To become a volunteer firefighter, residents have to take an eight-week Firefighter I class.
They also have to attend training sessions at least once a month.
One of the training sessions requires volunteers to maneuver their bodies through a 2-foot by 2-foot, 8-foot long, woodencased tunnel with four metal rods sticking through different levels within the tunnel. Once they crawl through it, they have to slide through a 42-diameter inch circle to get out.
"The exercise builds up your confidence in a fire," Magaha said.
"In a fire, you have to feel your way around because you can't see anything. This exercise teaches you how to get through tight spaces."
Although the fire department receives more medical emergency calls than fire calls, Magaah said, receiving all kinds of
"When people think of fire fighting, they think of us putting out fires," Magaha said. "But people don't realize that we help in car accidents, rescue situations and gas cleanups."
Magaha has volunteered for three years, and said he would not mind becoming a fulfledged firefighter. First, he wants to get his degree in athletic training with a pre-medical emphasis, he said.
"I want to have a four-year degree, so I can move up in rankings when I become a firefighter," he said. "I would also really like to go to medical school to become a cardiologist."
— Edited by Amy Schmitz and Katie Teske
John "Cameron Diaz" Nowak/KANSAN
The Betty Grimwood Thanksgiving Homestay Program allowed Sharon and Jerry Forree to host two international students in the past. This Thanksgiving, the Forees will enjoy the American holiday tradition with a Fulbright scholar and 17 other family members.
International students to feast in Lawrence
By Erin Beatty
ebeyatty@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
International students at the University of Kansas who can't go home for Thanksgiving will have the opportunity to stay with American families for the holiday.
For the 48th year, families in Lawrence and surrounding areas will host KU international students as part of the Betty Grimwood Thanksgiving Homestay Program.
Carol Dias da Silva, program coordinator, said the program was an opportunity for international students to learn about the American tradition and to get to know families in the area. She said the students could stay connected with the families after the holiday.
"It's an opportunity for the hosts, too, because they'll get to learn about other cultures," she said.
Jorge Carvajal-Espinoza, San
David Mutabazi, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, sophomore, said he was interested in getting to know an American family and learning how they cooked.
Jose, Costa Rica, graduate student, said this was his first year at the University.
"I'd like to learn the customs and traditions of Americans, and share their experience," he said. "I don't know very much about Thanksgiving."
Dias da Silva said 28 students and 27 families signed up to participate in the program this year.
Sharon Foree, Lawrence resident and administrative assistant for the Graduate School and International Programs, said she would host a student at her house. The student will join Foree and about 17 family members for Thanksgiving.
"We hosted two Fulbright Scholars before and enjoyed it immensely," she said.
Hosting a guest can create family harmony during the holiday because everyone is on their best behavior, said Audrey Kamb, a Lawrence resident who will host a student.
She said it would be an educa tional experience for the family.
— Edited by Katie Teske