When Zach Garfield’s pager sounds in the middle of class, he wastes no time. The Gould Academy senior briskly walks three minutes up the street, slips into his turnout gear and joins the Bethel Fire Department crew.

And at age 18, he instantly lowers the squad’s median age.

Garfield, of Bethel, has long known he wanted to follow in his uncle’s footsteps and become a firefighter.

But while Garfield was certain, Bethel fire Chief Mike Jodrey was not. He doubted they would see much of the high school student when fellow firefighter and Gould Administrator Dave Willis told him about Garfield.

“I was wrong, as you see he has taken the ball and run with it. He has gone above and beyond anyone’s expectations,” Jodrey said. “When he first joined, he was not 18 years old and there were many things he could not do. He used to have to sit in the truck, like a little dog watching out the window.

“Unlike others, he was watching everything we did,” Jodrey added.

On Feb. 9 at Gould’s Bingham Auditorium, Garfield presented his senior Four Point project to about 100 students and 12 Bethel firefighters. Four Point projects are a four-year sequence of experiential challenges that culminate with a series of presentations.

Garfield’s project focused on his time with the fire department.

“Today, I’m honored to introduce firefighter Zach Garfield,” Willis said ahead of the presentation.

Garfield said he never had to ask the other firefighters for help.

“Everyone wanted to teach me something,” he said.

He logged 117 training hours, 50 hours on calls and six hours of community service. He spent 29 hours in a Fire 102 course in Farmington, learning fire suppression, self extrication and victim extrication, earning certification.

Three months after joining in October 2024, he responded to a structure fire that burned for four and a half hours.

“Kind of thrilling,” he thought, but “I’m not here to watch. I’m here to do something about it.”

Drawing laughs from fellow firefighters, he said he learned the difference between an intake and discharge valve while filling a pool.

After visiting other stations, he said, “I realized how fortunate Bethel is to have resources we do, all the apparatus and tools.” The department’s equipment, he said, strengthened his training.

During Fire Safety Week at Bethel’s Crescent Park School, Garfield saw that enthusiasm reflected back at him. Children asked everything from why the truck is red to what certain tools do.

“That really tested my knowledge,” he said. “People are curious and they care about what we do. It’s a gift to be able to share it.”

Though his project is complete, he plans to stay. Firefighting, he said, has become part of his identity.

“I forgot it was part of my senior Four Point. It was something I loved so much and something I was so committed to and that I came to naturally.”

He has not yet chosen a college but said proximity to a fire station will be a consideration as he decides where to head in the fall.