St. Charles firefighter and paramedic Steve Siwy has a ‘servant’s heart’

Steve Siwy is a firefighter and paramedic in St. Charles who has been fighting fires in Kane County for more than 20 years and giving back to the community every step along the way.

Siwy grew up in Elgin and has lived in Elburn since 2003 with his wife of 16 years, Annette, and their three children, Allainna, 14, Faith, 12, and Roman, 10.

Siwy began fighting fires voluntarily in Elburn in 2004 as a part-time job that he said seemed fun. As he started getting certified, he fell in love with it. He was hired full time in 2007 and joined the St. Charles Fire Department in 2015.

“Not only did it speak to me, but it just made sense to go into something that I enjoyed where I could actually help people,” Siwy said. “What really drew me to the job at first was the medical side of things and being able to help people.”

In St. Charles, all firetrucks and fire engines are equipped with medical equipment and can do everything an ambulance can do besides transport. This allows them to begin administering patient care as soon as they arrive at the scene if they are the first to arrive.

The fire department gets calls for all sorts of things, from malfunctioning smoke detectors to heart attacks because people know the fire department will be able to help.

“Just the ability to help people and contribute when they’re having an issue or a crisis,” Siwy said. “It’s really fulfilling to be able to give up yourself to help somebody else get to a better place.”

Firefighters train everyday, and depending on the number of calls during the day, they can do hours of physical and mental training.

“We do these trainings every day so that we’re always prepared to do our best to serve the community because at the end of the day, that’s what it’s about, serving the community,” Siwy said.

Siwy is the coordinator for the department’s technical rescue team, which is specially trained to respond to extreme scenarios such as vehicle extrication, building collapses, high-angle fire rescues and other tactical operations. Siwy develops programs and training measures for his department and coordinates with Mutual Aid Box Alarm System teams across the state.

Siwy said the job has changed a lot in the past 20 years with new technology, construction materials and medical advancements, which is why constant training is so important so they can be prepared to give the best possible care.

Technology has improved the job in many ways, from the transition from map books to GPS routing, to improved breathing apparatus that allow them to stay in low oxygen environments longer and do more rescues. Protocols for medical procedures also change frequently.

“As the world evolves, we have to evolve with it so that we can be efficient,” Siwy said.

There are between 14 and 17 firefighters on duty at all times across the three fire stations in St. Charles. Siwy said the teams and their families develop very close bonds and often do things together outside of work, whether it’s barbecues in the summer, bowling or baseball games.

“It’s really fulfilling to be able give up yourself to help somebody else get to a better place.”

—  Steve Siwy, St. Charles firefighter/paramedic

“We’re quite close,” Siwy said. “It really is a second family. We call it a brotherhood and it really is because we spend so much time together we’re like brothers and sisters. Sometimes we argue like brothers and sisters, but at the end of the day we really do all love each other.”

Siwy said one of the unique things about the profession is the bond, which reaches past just their own department. He said if he is out of town or in another state, he knows he can walk into any fire station and if he’s in trouble or just needs somebody to talk to he can go there and get help because of that common bond.

“Some of the best moments are when you can really make a difference in someones life,” Siwy said. “It doesn’t have to be grandiose. There have been a number of times where I’ve been able to save peoples’ lives who were experiencing cardiac arrest and through our preventive measures we were able to save them or get them to the hospital in time.”

Siwy said it isn’t just the emergency scenarios that are rewarding. He said elderly people often will call fire stations to change their smoke detector batteries. Just being able to help in a small way is something people take for granted, he said.

“You have to, at your core, want to be a servant because we serve the public. That’s the whole reason we’re there,” Siwy said. “If you have that servant’s heart and you really want to make a difference, I’d say it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”