HERO PROFILE: AVFD Fire Fighter Matt Hafler

On his sixteenth birthday, when most teens would be thinking of how to get out of the classroom, Matt Hafler was dreaming of getting in. On his birthday Hafler joined the Arundel Volunteer Fire Department and filled out paper work to start fire fighting classes with Anne Arundel County. Over the past two years not only has he become a trained fire fighter and an EMS provider but has also volunteered hundreds of hours working on public relations events. 

This last December he was Santa Clause for Crofton children. “This year I was Santa on the ‘Santa Cruze.' I sat on top of an antique open cab Seagrave engine. It even had a real Federal Signal Q-Siren on it. The kids and parents cheered when we drove down the streets at night. It was awesome,” said the eighteen year old.

Hafler says he has always known he wanted to be a fire fighter. His father, John Hafler, is an Anne Arundel County career firefighter. “I used to visit my dad at work and when I got old enough, it just seemed natural that I would begin taking classes,” says Halfer. 

He goes on to add “My dad is the best mentor I could ask for. I have been learning so much from him and he was able to help me study and prepare for classes. He also was able to help prepare me for real world experiences. I will be a better fire fighter because of him.”

“My most interesting day was when I was with the ambulance. My partners and I were stuck on the ambulance for 6 hours straight. We could never make it back to the station! It was call after call after call. But we had the greatest time and nothing like that has ever happened to be before. I enjoyed every minute of it,” says Hafler. To date this year he has responded to over 100 engine calls and close to 200 EMS calls. 

When asked about the worst part of the job Hafler answered with “People don't understand what we go through. I ride an engine and an ambulance. I could get back from a fire and have to get on the ambulance, and sometimes people don’t appreciate what we do. People don't realize all of the things that we must face on a daily basis and we get taken for granted.”  

The recent high school graduate goes onto add “The best part of the job is really helping someone. Knowing that you made a difference in someone’s life is the best part.” He goes on to say that he highly recommends volunteering to everyone. Even if they do not want to ride equipment there are many jobs around the fire department that need the support of members. “It is a hard job but it is very rewarding,” says Halfer.