Newest city firefighter happy to find a job in his hometown

A few years as a Town of Batavia volunteer firefighter convinced Notre Dame graduate Mark Sacheli that he wanted to land a full-time job in the fire services.

This month, after 11 weeks of training at the New York State Fire Academy, things turned out for Sacheli better than he'd hoped -- now not only is he a career firefighter, he's serving in Batavia.

"I feel extremely fortunate to get a job doing what I love in my hometown," Sacheli said.

The 27-year-old bachelor was attending SUNY Brockport working toward a degree in physical education when his father suggested he would serve himself well by getting some EMT training and joining a volunteer department.

"After a few years I decided I didn't want to be a phys ed teacher," Sacheli said. "This is what I wanted to do. This is a career."

He said firefighting is an exciting job.

"Everything meshes well to make it a well-rounded job," Sacheli said. "Every day is different."

When he's not in uniform, Sacheli said he enjoys staying active. He described himself as an avid sports enthusiast who plays golf, softball, basketball and skies.

That fits in well with finding a job at home, where all of his friends live. He wanted to stay close to friends and family.

"The community is full of good people," Sacheli said.