Thursday, May. 14, 2009

Meet your firefighters

Name | Steven Sampollo

Age | 41

Occupation | Horry County firefighter-paramedic

Residence | The Farm

Family | Married to Laurie Sampollo; three sons, ages 5, 10 and 13

Originally from | Long Island, New York

How long have you lived here? 1½ years

How long have you worked for Horry County Fire Rescue? 1½ years

Total experience as a firefighter-paramedic? 15 years

When and why did you decide you wanted to be a firefighter? About age 18 or 19, he decided he wanted to be a firefighter like his cousins and neighbors. "It's like being a superhero. One guy on my block, Joe, his nickname was Superman."

What do you like the most about being a firefighter? "Helping people, especially when you work in an area where people ... perceive they've lost some sort of control. ... So even if it's not the most traumatic - it's not the biggest emergency, to them it is."

Hobbies, interests | church; owns his own window-washing business; playing drums

Favorite music or singer/band | Rush

Favorite movie | "The Passion of the Christ"

What's something people might not know about you? "I like to start my day asking God to help me help someone. ... I'd say [to] 99 percent of my patients I say, 'I'll keep you in my prayers.'"

_As told to Sarah P. Kennedy, editor, Your Carolina Forest.