The Wellston Fire Department is on its way to being certified as an Emergency Medical Response Agency (ERMA).
Chief Todd Beesley said the department is working towards state certification, which requires specific equipment, training and annual state inspections. Among its 14 volunteer firefighters on staff, three are currently nationally registered EMTs. The department has signed a contract with Heartland Medical, which is helping with the certification. They will also stand in as the medical director once they’re fully established.
“Once we get on kind of on our path, then we will have Heartland. The guys that are not nationally registered EMT, we will either go through emergency medical responder or EMT basic class that they will do for us inhouse,” he said. “The goal is to have every one of our firefighters certified either as an emergency medical responder or EMT, preferably EMT.”
Beesley said this will be a big plus for the fire district. EMS service is a premium, and there are times -- depending on where the emergency is located in the district -- that they’ve had to wait up to 45 minutes for an ambulance.
“It will give us a little bridge and hopefully spend time to get the ambulance on feet,” he said.
He said that waiting 45 minutes for an ambulance can eat up most of the golden hour -- time that starts when a medical emergency happens and runs until the patient gets definitive care. By doing this training and getting his team certifi ed, it can bridge that gap and provide better service in Lincoln County.
“It’s not the service providers. They do a great job. It’s just, you know, it’s funding. It’s what it comes down to. It’s funding to provide those services to the public,” he said.
As far as Beesley is aware, he doesn’t believe the department has been an emergency medical response agency in the capacity that they are required to now. In the past, Wellston had first responders in the fire department and used to operate its own ambulance service.
“But I believe that this is the first where we’ve actually gone through this process to be recognized by the state as an emergency response agency,” he said. “I’ve got a good group of guys that… we’re all on the same path, and we want to, our goal is to make the Wellston fire department better than it’s ever been and provide a good quality service to our community.”