WESTWOOD—Congratulations to Michael Saul, who stepped up from the cadet ranks and on May 3 was sworn in as a probationary firefighter with the Westwood Volunteer Fire Department — adding to his new credentials as a probationary member of the Hillsdale Volunteer Fire Department.
Saul is a third-generation firefighter for Westwood, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, honorary chief Robert Saul Sr.; his father, ex-chief Robert Saul Jr.; his mother, Hillsdale ex-chief Kim Hampton-Saul; and his brother, Bobby Saul.
The ceremony was held at the head of a meeting called to adopt the 2022 municipal budget. Mayor Ray Arroyo arranged to fit the swearing-in ahead of schedule in light of the fact that Bobby, who serves in the U.S. Army, was home on leave. The opportunity allowed him to hold the Bible for his younger brother as he took his oath.
Mayor Ray Arroyo said of Saul, who turned 18 on May 1 and stepped up in Hillsdale and Westwood as soon as humanly possible, said, “His family’s service lineage is long, storied, and held in the highest esteem in Westwood. But if you’ve ever met Michael you’d know he’s one of the most humble, helpful and head-screwed-on-straight young men you might hope to meet. His family, and his larger Westwood family, is so proud of him.”
Arroyo added, “It was an honor for me to swear him in tonight.”
Michael Saul, a senior at Pascack Valley High School, told Pascack Press on May 4 that being a fireman is “very important to me. It’s what I love to do.”
He started as a Westwood cadet in 2019 and attained his Fire 1 Certification in 2020. He’s interning with the Hackensack Fire Department.
After he graduates — that milestone is just around the corner — he’ll get his EMT certification. He said he’s interviewing locally for a position in dispatching.
Among his inspirations, he said, “My brother really loved to do it, and I thought I’d give it a go. The first couple of fires I went to and the first couple of good calls where we got to do some work, I found what I want to do as a career; I found what I love.”
He said of the fire service, “There’s nothing like it. You get the chance to help people and that’s very important to me.”
He’s responded to fires at Hillside and Oakland avenues, and more recently at David Hooper Place, and calls in Hillsdale and River Vale.
He was on the job in November 2021 when the crew assisted on a medical call at Westwood House — the patient had fallen in front of their apartment door, preventing the police and EMS crews from gaining access.
The fire department explained, “While Rescue 1’s crew went inside and tried to pop open the apartment door, Truck 1’s crew set up the tower ladder and gained access to the apartment through the outside window. Truck 1’s crew was able to then move the patient and allow EMS to enter the apartment to do their thing.”
The department added, “We just wanted to point out that our members that were in the bucket were very brave today as they had to leave the security of the buck to move themselves through the window and into the top floor apartment (seven stories high).”
Saul also has responded to mutual aid calls in River Vale and Hillsdale.
“With certain people it’s like a second family,” he said. “Everything that I need or everything that they need we do for each other. It’s nice to have that.”
Michael’s father, ex-chief Robert Saul Jr., told Pascack Press on May 4, “I don’t want to say it’s a family business but it is a family tradition. My grandfather was a cop in Westwood and we’ve been involved in the emergency serves probably since 1927, in one way or another, the Saul family.”
He said, “My dad joined [the Westwood Volunteer Fire Department] 1974; I grew up around the firehouse as a young man. He was a police officer as well. I followed in his footsteps; I was a police officer in town, and I joined [the fire service] in 1985 and have been a member ever since.”
He added, “My wife, Kim, is a member of the fire service; she was also a chief [in Hillsdale], back in 1999–2000, It’s just some that’s in our family. So we’re very proud, and it was awesome to see him stand up there last night.”
Saul said, “He’s a humble kid. He stands he’s the junior guy in the firehouse and he understands his role, and he accepts that, and he works super-hard to be a better fireman.”
He added, “He just doesn’t stop. He’s one of these kids, he’s a fighter. For a young man he’s been involved in an awful lot of stuff in life, and my wife and I are happy to see him take the next step.