NMHS Grad Plays Critical Role in Saving Food Bank from Fire

By Jillian Daley

A North Marion High School 2020 graduate and student firefighter was instrumental in saving a Woodburn food pantry from being destroyed in a fire on Aug. 16.

Noah Wierstra, a student resident volunteer for Woodburn Fire District (WFD), is usually stationed at a student fire station but happened to be training at the main station while the career firefighters were responding to a medical emergency. A call came in at about 3:21 p.m. Aug. 16 that the AWARE Food Bank on Arthur Street was burning, so WFD Division Chief Scott Heesacker, who was supervising the students, jumped into a command vehicle, while Wierstra and fellow WFD student resident volunteer Jared Redmon took off in an engine, lights blazing and sirens blaring. The main station was the closest to the food pantry, so the three of them were the first to land on the fire scene, which is being investigated as suspicious.

“We arrived on scene, and we saw heavy smoke coming from the eaves of the Food Bank and two-foot flames in that corner where the fire started,” Wierstra says. If they didn’t act, sparks could ignite the roof, engulfing the whole building.

A Young Hero

Heesacker was there to command the scene, but it was the first major fire the two students had ever fought without career firefighters on hand. Since Redmon was driving, he operated the controls in the cab of the vehicle to get the water flowing and Wierstra picked up a hose line and rushed toward the building. The door was locked, so Wierstra had to grab a Halligan forcible entry tool (a little like a crowbar) to pry open the door. Then he opened the nozzle to the line and let the water gush onto the crackling dry wood of the one-story structure built in 1910.

“We would have definitely lost the building if they had not been there,” Heesacker says.

The other firefighters from WFD and area agencies arrived in time to provide some much-needed relief to the young heroes.

The two student firefighters are roommates in the student firehouse on James Street. Wierstra has been on the WFD team since he graduated from North Marion and became a student at Chemeketa Community College several months ago. By the end of next summer, Wierstra will have obtained an emergency medical technician license and an Associate of Applied Science in Fire Protection Technology – Fire Prevention from Chemeketa.

“He is awesome to work with,” Heesacker says. “He’s very young and motivated. He wants to be a firefighter, and he’s just like a sponge. He wants to pick up every piece of information and training he can get.”

A Student Leader

Wierstra also performed while as a student at North Marion, joining the National Honor Society and earning a 3.87 cumulative GPA. He was also active in SkillsUSA, a student organization focusing on career and tech, and in Big Brothers Big Sisters, a mentorship program, which he did through Future Business Leaders of America, also a student organization centered around career and tech. Born prematurely, Wierstra grew strong, in High School participating in football, baseball, and basketball. 

He notes that his North Marion coaches and woodshop teacher, Sherie Moran, were among his strongest advocates and supporters. Moran says Wierstra practically “lived in her workshop,” and as a SkillsUSA officer, he competed in carpentry, winning fourth place in his first event.

“His determination to be the best made sure he wasn't a quitter no matter what task he took on,” Moran says. “As always, I am proud to be his shop teacher and recommended him to the firefighting program at Chemeketa. Noah was always an inspiration to his High School peers and it seems that is still the case with his adult peers. Bravo, Noah!”

Growing up on a farm in the rural Woodburn area, Wierstra says his parents pushed him and his twin brother to not only achieve in school but to pursue a career. For example, Wierstra was too shy to attend an open house at the firehouse, even though he’d always been interested in being a firefighter. His mom pushed him to go, and that was when Wierstra met Heesacker and WFD Fire Chief Joe Budge.

“They showed me around, and I fell in love with the job,” Wierstra says.

To share your story with the North Marion community, email Jillian Daley at jillian.daley@nmarion.k12.or.us.