Ed Koren is a long-time volunteer fireman?

Regarding New Yorker cartoonist and newly appointed State Cartoonist Laureate of Vermont, Seven Days writes:

But few beyond Koren’s neighbors know that, for the past 26 years, he has been a volunteer with the Brookfield Volunteer Fire Department. Koren calls his other, less public job a “tonic,” in that it allows him to connect with his community ? and to occasionally escape from the demands of his drawing board. Even when he’s inking, he wears his emergency pager.

Koren is a modest fellow, reluctant to write or draw about his own life. But he kindly agreed to Seven Days’ request to write and illustrate a firehouse anecdote that humorously shows how he finds the balance between his two unusual careers.

Here’s a sliver of the piece mentioned above. Click through to see/read the whole thing.