Faces of Bedford: KBHVAC's Kate Palmesi and Jessica Carducci

911 are three digits we dread ever having to dial, but in the event we do, an army of fearless first responders awaits to answer on all days at all hours.  In Bedford and most neighboring communities, they’re also an entirely volunteer force—hometown heroes too often unsung.

Among them are Bedford Hills residents Kate Palmesi, 18, and Jessica Carducci, 23, two promising young guns of

For Palmesi, the call to community service came naturally.

“My dad is president of the Bedford Hills Fire Department, my mom is vice president of the corps and my brother is also an EMT here,” she explained.  “My family has always been involved in town, all the way down from my grandfather.

She joined the junior corps program at 16, going through the same training with certain limitations—like not being able to drive ambulances.

Carducci made a more unexpected landing at corps headquarters.

“In 9th grade, I wanted to be a cop. Then I wanted to join the fire department, but my dad wouldn’t let me,” she explained.  “I came here instead, at first thinking it would be a good resume builder, and now it’s turned into my life.”

Now a seasoned seven-year veteran despite her age, Carducci, who also works as a paid EMT for TransCare in The Bronx, is currently pursuing her paramedic certification at Westchester Community College, where Palmesi also studies in the nursing program.

While an EMT is trained in basic life support, splinting, and resuscitation, it takes a paramedic—with an additional 1,400 hours of training—to intubate, IV, or administer most drugs.

As a result of her civic commitment, Carducci, who once struggled to find her path, travels towards a career she’s truly passionate about.

“I’ll be qualified as a paramedic hopefully next August,” Carducci added.

To be a first responder can sometimes require a stoic mindset, an acquired skill with experience.

“[Most of our friends] have no idea and will never understand what we go through,” Palmesi remarked.  “My first trauma call was an infant in an accident who didn’t make it.  You definitely have to have a stomach for it, it changes you.”

But she added there’s also a more positive side, the personally rewarding feeling of knowing you helped save a life.

“I had my first save about two weeks ago.  We responded to a patient who was down with no pulse, and when I got there, CPR was in progress.  We were able to get one back, and as far as I know, they're alive today.”

Palmesi and Carducci consider the corps a second home, and the core group of volunteers their second family.  Their maturity and professionalism has made them valuable members, both of the KBHVAC team and of the close-knit community they serve.

“I’m consistently impressed by their patience and compassion,” said Michelle Brier, a fellow volunteer and public relations officer for the corps. “Even when they were in high school, they behaved like adults with years of professional experience.”

The corps is constantly seeking new recruits with no previous experience required, and full training offered.  Young members can join the junior corps beginning at age 16—just as Jessica and Kate did—and may even have them as orientation leaders.  For more information, visit http://www.kbhvac.org