Needham Fire Welcomes Home New Recruits

August 9, 2024
• Two Needham High School graduates recently returned to town as members of the Needham Fire Department.

When Elise Gedansky and Dan Walsh respond to emergency calls, they don’t need Google Maps. Instead, they rely on years of memories.

The pair, who both grew up in Needham, joined their hometown fire department last month as firefighter-paramedics and will soon rotate through various pieces of equipment, from ladder trucks to fire rescue ambulances to fire engines, Fire Chief Tom Conroy said.

Walsh and Gedansky’s “drive and compassion” to return to Needham has shined through in their work, Conroy said.

“The feedback that I’ve got with Dan and Elise, it’s been astronomical,” Conroy said. “There’s a lot of tradition here, a lot of camaraderie, and we are a big family, and they fit right in. We’re excited to have them.”

After graduating from NHS in 2019, Walsh worked as an EMT in Walpole and Plymouth and as an emergency tech at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, just a few doors down from fire headquarters.

Since coming back to town, Walsh has been reacquainted with old local haunts, including Cafe Fresh Bagel and Hazel’s Bakery. And while on the clock, Walsh drives down streets of his old friends and loved ones.

“It’s been cool coming back home and knowing where I’m going,” he said. “I’ve been very happy. It’s a good culture here. We’re a well-staffed department, which I think is really important.”

Conroy, who also hails from Needham, said he appreciates seeing former residents return as public servants.

“Growing up in Needham, you always want to come home and give back to the town what it gave you,” Conroy said. “So it was really great to see Dan come back. He’s just a great asset for us.”

Both new members offered opposite assets to the team: Walsh attended the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy while Gedansky has her paramedic license. Walsh is now studying for his paramedic certification exam next week, and Gedansky will attend 10 weeks of basic training at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in Stow beginning this September. Afterward, Gedansky will return full-time to Needham Fire.

Gedansky, a 2008 NHS alum, worked for different ambulance companies across Greater Boston, first as an EMT and then as a medic. But those jobs came with “a mixed bag” of colleagues who routinely changed, she said.

With an interest in firefighting and the family-like culture that comes with it, Gedansky said she felt ready to learn new skills. Coming back to Needham was just the cherry on top.

“It’s been great. It’s definitely interesting to come back to Needham and see how things have changed since I left,” Gedansky said. “But the main streets and everything are pretty much the same, so it’s cool to get re-familiarized with it.”

Gedansky and Walsh divide their time between accompanying emergency calls and training for their positions. This week, Walsh trained on the deck gun, a device on top of fire trucks that shoots water, and Gedansky learned about hooking hoses up to hydrants in the event of a residential fire.

Gedansky also makes history as the second woman to join Needham Fire, according to the department. Gedansky, in that way, may help to “pave the way” for other female recruits, she said.

“Elise comes from a tremendous paramedic background,” Conroy said, “so she brings a lot to the department.”

Onboard the ambulance — Gedansky’s “moving office” — she’s able to meet and assist different people. And working at a fire department, she said, felt like a natural extension of that work.

“I’ve always been one of those helpers,” Gedansky said, “so it’s a good spot for me.”

That human connection also proved to be a big draw for Walsh.

“I really like the fact that every day, I get to go solve people’s problems, whether it’s those simple lift assists or changing the batteries in the detectors, or it’s those high-acuity calls, the cardiac arrests, the strokes, the fires,” Walsh said. “Every day, I get to go out in the real world to deal with real people who have problems and try to do something about that.”