“I unzipped my gown while I was running,” recalls Patterson, who held his diploma in one hand and his cap in the other as he rushed to the fire station a few blocks away on June 24. , just after 7:30 p.m.

Also running was Kasumi Layne-Stasik, her Port Jefferson High School classmate and fellow firefighter – holding a congratulatory bouquet of blue flowers. She took off her earrings and necklace as she ran.

“I didn’t think twice about it,” said 18-year-old Layne-Stasik.

Once they arrived at the fire station, the students quickly put on their protective gear and within minutes they were in a fire truck, heading to the scene of a house about half a mile away. A fire had broken out in the garage.

“It was somewhat extraordinary circumstances,” Patterson said, explaining that the proximity of the high school graduation ceremony to the fire station, as well as the proximity of the fire station to the fire, made it difficult. makes an unfailing effort. “Speed ​​is very important. We like to get there quickly.

“It’s a hustle and bustle, but things get done, and it’s a really cool experience,” Layne-Stasik echoed.

Within an hour the flames were extinguished and no one was injured. The cause of the fire is being investigated by the village fire marshal, the Port Jefferson Fire Department said.

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Patterson has been a fire department volunteer since he was 14 years old. He participated in a junior training program and in February 2021 he officially became a firefighter. Since then, he has responded to several fires and other emergencies.

“When you think of firefighters, you don’t usually think of 17- or 18-year-olds,” Patterson said, adding that he and other trainees underwent rigorous training – including lectures and hands-on drills – before officially become members. of the department. “I really like the aspect of helping people. It’s nice to have a positive impact.

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Like Patterson, Layne-Stasik also entered the department’s junior program – for which she is now an adviser – when she was 14. She was the only girl of the eight students in her class to join.

“I never feel singled out or anything like that,” she said. “I love being part of it.”

Port Jefferson Deputy Fire Chief Christian Neubert was on duty on graduation day. If the students hadn’t acted as quickly as they did, he said, the outcome of the fire might not have been so favorable.

“The theory is that the fire will double in size every thirty seconds,” said Neubert, who is also a middle school teacher and taught five of the six seniors when they were younger. “Seeing them go through the whole fire department was really rewarding.”

The Port Jefferson Fire Department has approximately 60 active members and is an all-volunteer organization.

“Nobody gets paid, and of those kids, a lot of them have jobs,” Neubert said. They were also full-time students. “They are really dedicated. They respond to whatever they can.

Active members of the fire department receive general alarms on their phones and pagers, and once a trained crew arrives at the fire station, the response effort begins.

“It’s almost like first come, first served,” Neubert explained. “If they hadn’t responded because they were at graduation, everyone would have understood.”

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Although it was a memorable day for the six students, “they are very motivated,” Neubert said, adding that he was not surprised that they all jumped into action quickly. “In our present time, it seems that children are not like before, with dynamism and motivation. It goes against that.

“We’re talking about the nicest kids you could ask for,” Neubert continued. “I couldn’t say enough about them. They brought so much life to the fire station.

School administrators shared the same sentiment.

“This is a milestone in their lives, and even that hasn’t stopped them from serving their community, as they have done countless times throughout their lives,” said Robert Neidig, Deputy Superintendent of Program and Instruction at Port Jefferson. School district. “We couldn’t be prouder.”

The students are all heading to college next year, and a few are staying in the area. Still, they say they will all remain active members of the fire department, and whenever they return home to Port Jefferson for breaks, they plan to continue responding to fire calls and other emergency situations.

Although their graduation festivities were cut short, the students said they couldn’t have done it any other way. For Layne-Stasik, showing up to work mid-celebration to support her community made graduation all the more rewarding.

“The transition between us, throwing off all our caps and then immediately running to help, that was the most memorable moment for me,” Layne-Stasik said.

“It was a really good day,” he said.

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