LANCASTER, N.Y. -- Our first City Shaper of 2018 may only be a teenager, but he's already having a big impact on his community.
"To be honest, I'm kind of an adrenaline junkie. I love going on calls," says Andrew Wargo.
Wargo hasn't graduated from high school just yet, but he is already an experienced first responder.
"I've always had a love for firefighting. I was introduced to it when I was two-years-old. My grandfather took me to the fire hall for my first time, and I fell in love with it," says Wargo.
"He loved to sit up in the truck and pretend he was a dispatcher and a chief and everything else all rolled into one. He loved to ring the bell that we had on the fire truck, and that would make a lot of noise," says grandfather Thomas Orwat.
Wargo is a senior at Saint Mary's High School in Lancaster. He is also a NYS Certified First Responder and Volunteer Fire Explorer with the Bowmansville Volunteer Fire Department.
“I've always loved helping people regardless of the situation they may be in, whether it be helping out here at school at an event, or like I said, going back on calls, I always love to help people," he says.
To get more teens involved in the various aspects of emergency services, Wargo started the Lancer First Responders club at St. Mary's.
"He's always been a really good friend. He's there for everyone, and he really makes an effort to get to know everyone in the school. He's such a good friend. I don't know where I'd be without him," says friend Kerry Sullivan.
In his free time, Wargo also does the sports announcing at games. He says it's a hobby. And, he's also a part of the campus ministry. His goal is to spread his love of community service to other teens.
"Whether that's be being a firefighter or being an EMT or a police officer. You know, kids don't realize that they can start training for that now, or having a positive impact on it now, so I think that's not what necessarily my goal is, but I feel like that's what my impact is, is to get more kids involved," says Wargo.
In the fall, Wargo plans on going to ECC to get a paramedic degree.
If you'd like to nominate a Buffalo business owner or not-for-profit agency to be a City Shaper in 2018, just send Kelly Dudzik an email.