Hearing Loss Doesn't Stop Calif. Man Set on Being a Firefighter

Oct. 02--By age 3, Justin Sarna had a whole firefighter's suit assembled, was putting out grill fires with the hose whenever his parents turned their backs, and even took off for "work" one day, just like his dad.

Not long before his love of firefighting began, his parents stopped denying that their quick-learning and bright youngest child had been born profoundly deaf -- 90 percent or more lost -- in both ears, though he adapted well with hearing aids.

"I was worried when he was really little and so into that," Justin's mother Brie Sarna admitted in an interview Monday. "I said something to his dad about it -- 'I don't know if he'll be able to do that (firefighting), because of his hearing.' "

And mom's fears were not easily put to rest, especially after the "legendary" incident in which little 3-year-old Justin packed his miniature firefighter turnouts, kissed his brother goodbye and walked some dozen blocks without his hearing aids toward the Redwood Street fire station where his dad worked.

Vallejo firefighter Dan Sarna recalled the day vividly.

"His mom called me at work, 'Justin -- I can't find him anywhere. There's a window in the playroom open, and there's a stool there,'" Sarna said. "So I called the chief's office ... and he called all the stations and the engines were out looking for him."

Over the years, Justin's interest in firefighting continued, and his parents found themselves having to decide how to create a path for him in the hearing

world.

In a recent interview with father and son, the idea that becoming a hard-of-hearing firefighter might not be a realistic goal seems not to have earned much ground with the Sarnas.

It did not hurt that the younger Sarna, now 20, was already a few weeks into being one Crockett Carquinez Fire Department's eight resident firefighters. Resident firefighters are called as first responders for all the volunteer department's calls, before requests are spread out to the other 60 volunteers.

Crockett Assistant Chief Harold Burnett said Sarna was adjusting well to his new position, and his years of experience with fire programs had outweighed concerns about his hearing.

"We look at it the same as if somebody has to wear glasses. If you're (impaired) -- it can be corrected, which his is with hearing aids," Burnett said. "When he came in, he did very well in his interview."

California Professional Firefighters communications director Carroll Wills said his agency does not track the instances of deaf and hard-of-hearing firefighters, but that "it's probably fair to say that it's not a common occurrence."

"Just to become a firefighter is a significant accomplishment, because of all the knowledge that you have to have and the testing requirements," Wills said. "It's not an easy job to get these days. There's no way to identify how often (deaf/hard-of-hearing hires) happens, but it is certainly a significant accomplishment."

Brie Sarna, Justin's mom, said it was not always easy sailing for her youngest child.

"His senior year (of high school) he was putting in applications ... people were just telling him 'no, no, no,' " Brie Sarna said. "He just didn't give up. It's kind of a testament to who he is."

Helping Justin Sarna adapt to his chosen public service are not only his hearing aids, but also being taught early to communicate verbally, rather than solely through American Sign Language. He practiced both through elementary school.

Dan Sarna said deciding how his son would be taught to communicate was a struggle, even within his own family.

When it comes to deaf and hard-of-hearing education, the debate over how children are taught has raged for more than a century. Distinct cases have been made for both oral communication (speech), and manual communication (sign language.)

"It was a real difficult decision," Dan Sarna said. "And I made it when Justin was pretty young. I was taking the sign classes and we signed to each other and we were really proficient with it.

"But I started thinking, as he got older, I thought -- what's going to happen to him when he goes to work, and when he's out. People aren't going to sign to him, and people aren't going to be as empathetic as we are."

School officials were not "100 percent" behind switching to verbal communication at home, the elder Sarna said, but they were generally supportive. There was "a lot of resistance" from others when the family stopped signing at home with Justin, but Justin himself said that it ultimately was a decision he embraced.

"It was heart-wrenching," Dan Sarna said. "There were times when I really doubted, and there's just a lot of friction with his mom and everyone. It was just really hard. But, even when he talked to us, I would stop him and make him say it again. ... He'd get frustrated and angry."

Justin Sarna said he remembers difficulty of being pushed to articulate his words, and the benefit of being able to "mainstream" with the hearing kids, who didn't know how to sign.

"It was mostly my speech problem that was the big drawback, the big difficulty that I had to deal with," Justin Sarna said. "Hearing wasn't so bad, because there's hearing aids. But the talking, speech -- it took me a while to actually pronounce words better."

Justin Sarna still knows how to sign, and that has come into play during his firefighting work. He has worked as a Vallejo Fire Explorer for the past seven or eight years, and once helped sign to a deaf family during an emergency call.

Sarna said his years as a Vallejo Explorer and in the Solano Community College's fire academy and several state Fire Exploring Academy sessions helped pave the way to his new career.

He added, however, that he "wouldn't be where I'm at today without the support of my family and friends."

Contact staff writer Jessica A. York at (707) 553-6834 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @JYVallejo.

Justin Sarna

Age: 20

Hometown: Vallejo

Occupation: Crockett resident firefighter

Family: Father Vallejo Firefighter Dan Sarna, mom Brie Sarna and three brothers

Quote: "Whatever I can do help people as much as I can, that's what I'm willing to do."

Copyright 2012 - Times-Herald, Vallejo, Calif.