The call came in at 3AM. The EMT dispatcher announced the details of a severe incident involving a Wilton boy. She said he gulped down a shot of gasoline from an old Gatorade bottle, doused himself with fuel and struck a match, setting his body ablaze in the locked bathroom of his family home, reported The New York Times.
When paramedics arrived, the boy was still very much alive and in a lot of pain. As the sun rose, the EMT's loaded the high school student into the helicopter and wished for the best. Friends and family of Sam Hingston said he had a bright future ahead of him; he was the captain of the football and wrestling team and was always a courteous young man, states the article. Hingston died that evening at Westchester County Medical Center in Valhalla, NY.
Kristian Ingwersen, 32, an EMT volunteer was there that morning. He witnessed the boy being pulled out of his home, and helped in getting him into the helicopter. He explains this incident as being “a big deal” and a memory that will stick with him forever. Ingwersen has been a Wilton EMT volunteer since he was 18 years old.
“I actually began volunteering because one of my friends was volunteering. He was very busy and it seemed the easiest way for us to hang out together,” Ingwersen said.
Ingwersen's friend ended up going off to college and he continued to volunteer. Ingwersen started helping out in South Bronx, where he was responsible for driving the emergency vehicle. Becoming an EMT driver for the town of Wilton was an easy process since he had prior experience.
Ingwersen said that there was really no need for further training, as far as driving the ambulance. But at one point in his volunteering career, he decided that becoming an EMT may be something that interests him.
“I ended up taking a hundred hours of courses, volunteered time in the Emergency Room, along with several other things. In the end I was one written test away from becoming an EMT, but I sort of chickened out as I never really wanted to do it, and was just helping out,” Ingwersen said.
For many people, being behind the wheel of a large vehicle with piercing sirens and swerving in and out of lanes at 80 mph would be stressful, but Ingwersen disagrees. It didn’t take much time for him to feel comfortable driving the vehicle which is classified as an RV in the state of Conn.
“It’s like driving a big U-Haul, with people in the back that can yell at you,” Ingwersen said.
The most challenging thing is when someone is in bad shape and they are in need of what the hospital can offer. He constantly has to remind himself to slow down in order to keep everyone safe. Ingwersen described how some of the emergency vehicles have systems that don’t function properly and this can make for a frustrating evening. Not only are there malfunctioning gadgets, there are also times when they are trying to reach someone’s home but the weather conditions make it almost impossible.
“Trying to get to someone’s house where they never plowed or shoveled their driveway or walkway and you have to try and drag a little stretcher through all that. Damage is done to the vehicles all the time, and they are constantly being repaired or replaced,” said Ingwersen.
Why does he do it? Why volunteer for all these years? It can’t be easy to witness things like burnt bodies and gun-shot wounds, and hearing screams of suffering from the person in need of medical assistance.
“The longer I do it and the more really big things I respond to, the less exciting it becomes. After all these years with shootings, building collapses, and car crashes- you start to realize you’ve seen it all,” Ingwersen said. Ingwersen enjoys contributing to the town and being a part of the community. He feels that as an EMT driver, he is being a giver instead of a taker. He likes that fact that Wilton residents sometimes recognize him, even the mayor and the police take notice and express their appreciation for his hard-work.
Ingwersen currently has a full-time job with an online brokerage company called Interactive Brokers, similar to E*Trade. When he’s not working or volunteering, he finds himself spending time doing home repair and relaxing with his cat.
It’s not an easy feat being an EMT volunteer. For Kristian Ingwersen, it’s all worth it in the end. It’s taught him things about life, death, and how you should appreciate every day, every moment you have on this earth. His time behind the wheel isn't so bad after all.
