City Approves Fire Territory EMT Certification Preparedness Course
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
A course will be taught to Warsaw-Wayne Township Fire Territory personnel to prepare them for national EMT certification. Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety Friday approved a contract, not to exceed $25,000, with Sue Bechtold, EMT certified primary instructor, to serve as instructor for the EMT class. The course will prepare first responders to take the national EMT class, said Mike Brubaker, Warsaw fire chief, during Friday’s meeting. The basic EMT course will begin March 5, and be completed no later than Aug. 15. The course will teach fire personnel how to administer glucose to diabetes patients, provide medicine to patients with heart problems, and assist patients who are having difficulty breathing, Brubaker said. “It’s not our goals to just transport, it’s our goal to get to that level of care and be able to assist with providing advanced care to a heart patient or someone with low blood sugar,” he said. Bechtold will provide instruction and materials for the successful completion of the exam. The course will be taught three days a week Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There will be five fire personnel in the class at each time while staff are on shift. There will be no less than 148 hours to a maximum of 220 hours of classroom instruction. Conducting the training while staff are on duty will save the city approximately $50,000, Brubaker said. While the staff are in training, there will be other personnel who will be on hand to respond to fire alarms and first responder calls. Brubaker said there are currently 14 Warsaw-Wayne Township Fire Territory staff members who hold EMT or higher certification (advanced EMTs and paramedics); and 15 staff members who have signed up for the EMT class and are first responders. Once completing the course, participants will take an EMT course at Ivy Tech to fulfill their state EMT certification. “They cannot practice as an EMT unless they hold state certification,” Brubaker said.
