If Tom Sessa seeks publicity, he does a nice job of hiding
it.
A West Catholic senior baseball player, Sessa is also
a volunteer firefighter for Upper Darby Township. On April
22, he responded to a life-or-death emergency call. An
elderly man had suffered a heart attack and was in dire
need of medical attention.
When Sessa arrived on the scene, the man reportedly had
been without breath for close to 10 minutes and all hope
seemed lost. Sessa immediately returned to his vehicle
to retrieve an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).
Although he knew how to use the machine, Sessa had never
before used it in a crisis situation.
To his relief, the AED revived the gentleman. When an
ambulance arrived on the scene, Sessa accompanied the
man to the hospital. Although he has not actually met
the man he saved, he has been told that his health is
improving steadily.
To hear Sessa tell the story, it was like just another
day at the office.
“There really isn’t a whole lot of time to
think,” said Sessa, a member of St. Charles Borromeo
Parish in Drexel Hill. “You just react.”
For his efforts, Sessa recently was presented with the
mayor’s award from Upper Darby and an award of excellence
from his firehouse. He accepted the honors with appreciation,
though he deflected most of the fanfare.
Perhaps shunning the spotlight comes with the territory
when your father is a career captain firefighter, as is
Sessa’s father, Tom.
Sessa said he’s learned most of what he knows about
firefighting and emergency responses from his dad.
“I just love being a firefighter. I love everything
about it,” he said.
However, becoming a firefighter isn’t necessarily
in the Sessa genes. Sessa’s brothers Kevin and Matt,
a West Catholic sophomore and freshman, respectively,
have zero interest in following in their older brother’s
footsteps.
Sessa understands their reluctance.
“It’s not for everybody,” said Sessa.
‘It’s definitely for me, though. Pretty much
as soon as the bell goes off, I get going and just focus
on what needs to be done.”
Although Sessa said he would become a firefighter if he
passed the necessary tests, he is planning to attend Neumann
College next fall. If he has a chance to play baseball
at Neumann, he will. Baseball has been a part of his life
since he was 5 years old.
He’s played basically every position at West Catholic,
most recently as starting catcher.
“It’s fun,” said Sessa. “You’re
in every play. It gets tough if you have a wild pitcher,
or he throws something different than what he’s
supposed to, but it’s definitely a position that
suits me.”
After all, it’s arguable that catchers have the
most challenging responsibilities, but rarely receive
much of the credit.
Sounds tailor-made for firefighter Tom Sessa.
John Knebels may be reached at jknebs@ao.com.
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