YARMOUTH — Fraternal twins Noah and Parker Bradbury do almost everything together. Including fighting fires.

The Yarmouth High School seniors, who will graduate June 5, are both volunteer firefighters and plan to train this fall to become certified in the field.

“We’ve done a lot working together,” Noah said. “It’s brought us closer.”

The two 18-year-olds live in Harpswell with their father and volunteer with Harpswell Neck Fire and Rescue, but go to school in Yarmouth, where their mother lives.

After school they turn their fire department pagers on and wait for calls, and also work on weekends.

Parker’s career in fire service started before his brother’s, when he became a junior firefighter in Yarmouth as a freshman. The first call he ever assisted on was the Gables Drive condominium explosion on June 25, 2013. The propane explosion killed one person and destroyed several homes.

Advertisement

“The Yarmouth condo explosion sticks with me every day,” Parker said.

When he joined the Harpswell crew as a high school junior, his twin brother did, too.

“I watched him do it and was like, ‘wow, that’s pretty cool,'” Noah said. “Watching him do all that made me want to get involved.”

The firefighter bug bit both boys when they were kids.

“We always liked emergency vehicles and helping people from a young age,” Noah said.

Also, their father is Deputy Sheriff George Bradbury of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. They said seeing him help people has inspired them to do the same.

Advertisement

“I grew up watching him do law enforcement,” Parker said. “It sort of got in my blood.”

Noah said helping people and “being there for someone in their worst moment” is one of the most rewarding aspects of fire service.

Parker agreed, saying he enjoys “the thrill of the job and being there for people who need help.”

After Yarmouth’s June 5 graduation, the Bradbury brothers plan to train to be official firefighters and become certified as emergency medical technicians. Their goal is to work for a full-time fire department, such as Portland or South Portland.

Parker shadowed a South Portland EMT for his school’s career exploration program and said it was eye-opening.

“Running five or six calls a day really got me into it,” he said.

Advertisement

The brothers aren’t yet certified to enter buildings, and have only put out fires from the outside. They said they’re excited to go into burning buildings and are glad they’ll be able to do it together.

“I think it’ll be really rewarding to know you and your brother are going in as a team to search and you’ll have each other’s backs,” Parker said.

The twins said they enjoy doing things together and will continue, despite some people urging them to develop their own individual interests.

“People are always like, ‘break away, do something different,'” Parker said. “We’ve tried, but then we always end up back together.”

Parker said he and his brother will always be a team.

“There’s no way anyone could split me and my brother up,” Parker said.

Advertisement

Noah agreed.

“It’s a special bond,” he said.

Kate Gardner can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 125 or kgardner@theforecaster.net. Follow her on Twitter: @katevgardner.

Yarmouth High School seniors Parker and Noah Bradbury have been volunteer firefighters in Harpswell and plan to become fully certified as firefighter/EMTs.

Fraternal twins Noah and Parker Bradbury plan to become certified firefighters after graduating from Yarmouth High School on June 5.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: