T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Allen Ketzell II, from left, Claire Daubenmeyer and Allen Ketzell III pose at the Brookside Volunteer Fire Department where four generations of their family have participated and volunteered.

BROOKSIDE — The Brookside Volunteer Fire Department recently welcomed a fourth generation of the same family to its firehouse.

Claire Daubenmeyer, a 17-year-old high school student, has enrolled in basic volunteer classes to start her cadet journey. Her uncle, Brookside Fire Chief Allen Ketzell III, approached her about signing up for the training.

“I approached her and said, ‘Hey you can take this as a senior in high school as long as you’re 17,’ and she said yes. So she spent every Sunday, Monday and Wednesday since the first of June doing the classes. She’s been doing everything from the academic part of it, the classroom section to the hands-on and she passed,” Ketzell III said.

Daubenmeyer also has worked as a certified lifeguard since she was 15 at Allen Pool at St. Clairsville Memorial Park. She has expressed an interest in emergency medical technician training and plans to further her education in the medical field.

Although Daubenmeyer passed her basic volunteer test, she won’t be able to receive her certification until she turns 18 in April.

Ketzell III’s father, Allen Ketzell II, is a past Brookside fire chief, serving in that role from 1980-1987, and Ketzell II’s father, Allen Ketzell, was a member of the Brookside Volunteer Fire Department in the 1950s and ’60s.

Daubenmeyer is happy to follow in her family’s footsteps.

“I just remember when I was little hearing the calls and then those two (her grandfather and uncle) leaving and always wondering what they were doing,” Daubenmeyer said when speaking on what made her want to become a cadet. “They’d always talk about it, and I was intrigued about it. I thought it was fun, scary but I thought it was fun.”

The Brookside Volunteer Fire Department is looking to revamp its cadet program after the state of Ohio recently changed the law that allows 17-year-olds who are seniors in high school to take classes.

“We’ve had the cadet program on and off. It just depends on the kids showing interest in it again. We’re going to put it out on a media blast on social media and so forth to try and get more kids involved,” Ketzell III said.

He added that the recent change in the law is very helpful.

“Because when they have the time to get it in they need to. You know, with sports, family, working, vacations and everything else they’re doing it’s just very hard to make time.”

When the eldest Allen Ketzell first joined the Brookside Volunteer Fire Department in the 1950s, the department had a large group of volunteers. According to Ketzell III, in 1957 the department had 87 members — more or less equal to every adult male who was a Brookside resident.

“We’re trying to bring that back. We don’t have the numbers, no one has the numbers like they used to. We’re trying to bring back the volunteerism,” Ketzell III said.

“Brookside is such a small area when you look at it. It’s stop light to stop light. So when you grew up in this community, your firehouse was the place you came to, it was like your consortium of sorts. This is where as kids we hung out. She as a grandchild, she hung out here as well,” Daubenmeyer’s mother Dawn Boston said.

The state of Ohio in conjunction with the National Volunteer Fire Council has a program called Make Me a Firefighter to get more residents interested in volunteering with their local fire departments.

“The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) launched the Make Me a Firefighter campaign to make it easier for prospective volunteers to learn about available opportunities and connect with their local fire/EMS department. We also provide tools and resources to departments to help them better engage with the community and recruit volunteers,” the Make Me a Firefighter website states.