By Clark Judge
(November 13, 2024) — When the Killingworth Ambulance Association held its annual dinner last month, speeches were made, local dignitaries introduced, board members recognized and the most active EMTs acknowledged. In other words, it was business as usual, except … well, except there was something that two of its prominent members didn’t expect.
Mike and Marguerite Haaga were asked to step forward.
Now, if you know either, public recognition is not what the husband-and-wife team seek. In fact, it’s precisely what they try to avoid. But they didn’t have a choice when KAA president Dan O’Sullivan asked them to join Killingworth First Selectman Eric Couture at the front of the room for a presentation not included on the evening’s itinerary.
“It was kinda weird,” Mike admitted later. “I put together the list of events that evening, and there was nothing on there about us. Surprised? Definitely.”
Imagine how they felt, then, when those who were there stood to applaud as Couture read a proclamation honoring the Haagas for nearly three decades of service with the KAA. Mike is its Chief of Service, Marguerite its vice president. Together, they are its most senior members and among its most active participants doing … frankly, just about everything.
They’re EMTs. They’re paramedics. They teach the annual EMT course in town. They teach CPR classes. They teach a variety of classes in and around Bridgeport, including pre-hospital trauma life support, advanced cardiac and pediatric life support, and participate in Continuing Medical Education classes. They also host monthly EMT training meetings at the KAA building on Route 81.
In short, they’re busy. But they’re also nearing retirement. Not now. Not next year. But sometime in 2026, with plans calling for them to move away. In the meantime, they intend to teach at least one more EMT course in Killingworth because … well, because that’s what they do.
They teach, and they teach effectively.
“IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN”
Former student Matt Albrecht – who grew up in Killingworth, passed the EMT course and now lives in Maine – can testify to their impact on students. He once proctored a paramedic exam at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland when he realized something unusual about a group of out-of-state participants who had driven there to take the test.
Their depth of knowledge was extraordinary.
“They were in a league of their own,” he said. “They came there confident, knowing all the right medications and dosages. So I finally asked them where they were taught, and they told me it was Connecticut. Then I asked them who their instructors were, and they said, ‘Mike and Marguerite Haaga.’ I said, ‘OK. You pass. You’re all set. I know you know what you’re doing.’ “
Mike and Marguerite Haaga moved to Killingworth in 1994 and joined the KAA three years later at the invitation of then-Chief of Service Brian Mahoney. By 2000, they were conducting EMT and CPR classes and, eventually, waded so deep into volunteering that were doing more than saving lives; they were changing them.
By Mike Haaga’s estimation, he and his wife certified more than 300 CPR students and taught more than 200 techs in Killingworth, including Albrecht and 18 of the 20 active EMTs active with the KAA today. One of them is O’Sullivan, the KAA’s leading responder who’s completed more than 200 ambulance runs each of the past four years. He’s also one of three board presidents taught as EMTs by the Haagas (Pat Miller and Sheila Ahearn are the others).
“The thing they drill into students is to always be hands-on with the patient,” said O’Sullivan. “Basically to manage the patient and not the monitors. Look at the whole picture and address the patient, not just the readings’ “
They currently conduct an EMT class that includes four students, three of whom are teens, and that runs from August through mid-December. Classes meet twice a week – with two four-hour sessions on Mondays and Thursday evenings, as well as five eight-hour Saturdays. In total, the course encompasses 160 hours of instruction, with students pushed through hundreds of pages of study, bullet points, weekly quizzes and Saturday “practicals” – or hands-on training.
It’s an exhausting schedule, but complaining is not on the syllabus.
“VOLUNTEERISM IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD DO”
“Look,” said Mike, “as a paramedic I feel it’s part of my job to teach. We do it as a public service. Serving the community is why we do this. We don’t do it for the recognition. Volunteerism is something you should do for the community. I’ll probably volunteer wherever we live as long as I can lift a stretcher.”
“They’ve always been that way,” said O’Sullivan. “They always say, ‘We’re not worthy of recognition; we’re just volunteers.’ But volunteers taking on that role are more worthy of recognition than someone who’s getting paid 30 hours a week.”
But the Haagas ARE getting paid; only it’s in tributes.
You already know what happened last month. In interviews for this story, there was a universal outpouring of support from former students, all of whom offered testimonies of the patience, expertise and reassurance they were given as aspiring techs – with more than one saying the Haagas offered as much comfort and support as they did information.
“They really want you to succeed,” said Mary Robbenhaar-Fretz, a former student and one of the KAA’s leading responders. “They will help remediate you if you’re having problems or mess up on a skill session. They’ll have you do it over and over again until you get it right because they want you to succeed.”
“You can get a lot of learning from books,” said Miller, “but what they imparted to us was the confidence to go out there and use our skills. Their expertise gave us the confidence to do what needs to be done. Not everyone can do that, but they prepared us pretty well.”
When that quote was repeated to Marguerite Haaga, she smiled.
“What do I enjoy most about teaching?” she said. “Probably the success of the students. We don’t want or need the attention. Our goal is to bring in volunteers, and we’ve done that.”
There was no need to remind KAA techs last month. They know that, too. An overwhelming number of those at the annual banquet passed the Haagas’ classes, including some who now serve monthly with them on the KAA’s board of directors. They understand that Mike and Marguerite Haaga don’t want the attention they’re getting. They also understand they have no choice.
“They’re invaluable,’’ said Fretz-Robbenhaar. “We might not exist without them.”
But that will happen. Some day that will happen. And then what?
“Oh, boy,” she said, pausing to find the words. “I really don’t want to think about it.”
Photo by Clark Judge
