South Lewis grad Daniel Ortlieb is student by day, firefighter by night

Rachel Burt, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·5 min read

Jun. 28—ADAMS — With his father a 20-year fire department veteran and current chief of the Constableville Volunteer Fire Department, service is essentially in Daniel W. Ortlieb's blood. It's no surprise that he, too, felt the call to join with the department and help out his community in any way he can.

The South Lewis senior became a member of the Constableville Volunteer Fire Department in 2019. Describing his father Daryl Ortlieb as an idol to him, Daniel said he has always pushed him to do better, constantly inspiring him.

"He pretty much got me involved with it," Daniel said about his interest in fire. "I grew up around it, and had a wicked interest in it, so I signed up for a bunch of classes and became a member of Constableville Volunteer Fire Department."

He said he probably has close to 150 hours worth of training so far and is now certified in basic exterior fire operations, known as Firefighter- 1. The NYS Firefighter-1 program is designed to prepare entry level firefighters to respond to emergencies and covers basic fire service qualifications, while Firefighter-2 involves more specialized areas and command. Daniel also has CPR and first aid certification and has signed up for an EMT course in the fall.

Though he is one of the younger active members of the department, Daniel is ranked as a safety officer for the 2022 year for Constableville, so when there's a fire scene or something happening, he must oversee and make sure everyone is using their proper PPE and have all the right equipment.

"It's definitely a commitment because say you go to school all day and usually my classes at night were Tuesday and Thursday for the fire hall," he said about being a firefighter in high school. "I'd have to get done with school after taking classes all day and then continue to go pretty much to school but for fire at night and do that for a couple hours."

He noted that South Lewis was supportive of his volunteering, so if a call came in while he was at school, he could usually sign out so long as staff knew he was leaving, and then continue to the call. This year, Daniel and a few of his fellow seniors were selected to speak to the fourth grade class during an orientation and give them advice for their future middle and high school careers, which he described as an honor, glad that administrators think as highly of him as he does of them.

A few years ago, Daniel and his father started a landscape company, D. Ortlieb Property Maintenance, LLC, which he describes as pretty much a father son business. He works with his dad on various projects around the area and plans to continue with the landscaping business on his days off from professional firefighting as the hours will leave time to hold at least a part time job after 48 to 72 hour shifts sleeping at the fire station.

Though Constableville is his home, it is a volunteer department, and Daniel's overall goal is to eventually become a professional paid firefighter somewhere, so long as it's still a relatively local area. While he hasn't yet gone inside a building engulfed in flames, he said he has been on top and around where the fire is inches from him.

"It's definitely nerve wracking, but it's also quite the adrenaline rush, you can't beat it," he said. "The main goal is to work with your partners that you have up there at the time, figure out a solution and hopefully resolve the problem that's going on. At the end of the day, if you actually help someone, that's the biggest pro to me. But definitely there's cons to it, your life is at risk every time you do it."

Aside from attending school and helping fight fires, Daniel also was part of the electrical program at BOCES and has a two year certificate. When he asked to be enrolled in the program, he said he had planned on becoming a career electrician after school. Through the program, he was given a preview of how that worked and came to the conclusion that it wasn't for him, that fire was definitely his heart and soul.

"I was able to make a decision that it just wasn't for me, but it's still a really good program to have in the back of your head," he said. "Because say I buy a house or something, I can pretty much rewire."

Having been with the South Lewis district for his whole academic career, Daniel was a big participant in sports, with football by far his favorite. In 2019, he received the Wegmans Player of the Year and broke the record in school for most receiving yards in the game, and still currently holds the title. Along with his certified electric, firefighting and first aid skills, Daniel is also an accomplished snowmobile watercross racer, having made his pro debut this year. As he describes it, you basically take a snow machine and go out there and race on the water, multiple laps around the track. According to Daniel, there are probably around 500 to 1,000 people that do it so it's pretty limited, but it's a good sport to get into. This will be his fourth year with the sport, and he said snowmobile watercross is something he plans to continue with into the future.

"I like competing, we travel all over like New Hampshire way, there's some in Wisconsin, and there's some local right here in the Lowville area," he said. "For me to go pro it means that's the highest stage possible. You're out there with a bunch of people that have been doing it way longer than you, just the thrill and excitement is a whole different level because you're pretty much the fastest guys out there."