Imagine donning 100 pounds of gear -- boots, heavy canvas pants and coat, a helmet, an oxygen mask and tank -- and climbing a ladder, or dragging a wet fire hose through mud and gravel.

Suzie Warehime, 21, has done all that and more in earning 1998 Firefighter of the Year honors from the Lineboro Volunteer Fire Company.

"I just like helping people," the Manchester resident said.

Warehime joined the Lineboro company in January 1996 after a friend, Robin Spertzel, extended an invitation.

"I had been thinking about it for a while," said Warehime, noting that her father, mother and brother have been volunteers for years.

She was about 8 years old when she began tagging along with her parents. At 13, she was in the junior firefighters program, serving food and beverages to volunteers at fires.

After completing the 160-hour Firefighter I training course, she finally boarded a fire engine on a real call in March 1996, heading to a house fire.

"My friend Russell Phillips fell through a floor that day," she recalled. "He went through partially and was stuck. They had to go in and help him out.

"All the way back, I was asking myself, 'Is this really what I want to do?' "

Obviously, it was.

Last year, Warehime responded to 105 of Lineboro's approximately 300 fire calls and to 90 of about 250 medical calls.

She lives in Manchester and drives five miles to catch an engine pulling out of the Lineboro station.

"Even if I don't make it in time, I'm there and ready if a call comes for additional help," she said.

Occasionally, Warehime has driven directly to a fire scene, but that's not recommended because she wouldn't have her gear, which is stored in her station house cubicle.

At the firehouse, firefighters can step into boots, pull up pants, slap a helmet on their heads and scramble into their coats within seconds.

Warehime's gear includes medical equipment for one facet of her training.

She has successfully completed courses for hazardous materials, emergency medical technician, intravenous technician, emergency vehicle operator, emergency medical services officer I, farm accident rescue, and basic trauma life support.

Next, she will tackle a course in emergency company operations, which teaches deployment of equipment at a fire scene.

She has managed all the training while earning an associate's degree from Carroll Community College and working in an office at a Westminster hardware chain.

"Maybe someday I will study to be a paramedic, but I haven't gotten enough experience to do that yet," Warehime said.

Despite her busy schedule, Warehime manages to go out with friends. She'll do that tomorrow night, celebrating her 22nd birthday.

The laughs and good times are great fun, but when the fire alarm sounds, "it's all business," she said.

Warehime has done a lot of unpleasant tasks in the spirit of teamwork, but she will not pad oysters for the oyster and ham supper, an annual fund-raiser at the Lineboro fire hall on March 27. Proceeds will be used to help build a larger firehouse.

"I don't do oysters," she said, scrunching her face. "If I'm not working that day, I'll be in the kitchen washing dishes."

Pub Date: 3/12/99