By Earl Corp
The Meadville Tribune
MEADVILLE, Pa. — They are the people who roll out of bed at 3 a.m. when you smell smoke. They show up when you crash your car. They also come when you suspect a burglar.
They’re the first responders.
First responders have become so important that the state Senate unanimously adopted a resolution designating Jan. 1 through 8, 2016, as “First Responder Appreciation Week” in Pennsylvania.
First Responders include fire, police and emergency medical personnel. They are likely to be the first people to arrive at and assist at the scene of an emergency, such as a vehicle crash, structure fire, natural disaster or terrorist attack.
A first responder can be someone who is paid, but most are volunteers who give back to their communities and enjoy keeping their neighbors safe.
Allen Clark, director of the Crawford County Emergency Management Agency, speaks highly of those men and women he and all residents greatly relive on.
“24/7, 365 days a year for as long as history has recorded there are men, women and teenagers who are trained, equipped and have the passion to put others’ safety before their own to help those that are in distress,” Clark said. “They miss work, they leave during church and they run out every day whether it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas or someone’s birthday. Emergencies don’t stop for holidays.”
The resolution recognizes all first responders, including volunteer and career firefighters, emergency medical service workers and police officers. There are roughly 55,000 registered emergency medical service workers, 75,000 firefighters, and more than 45,000 police officers that serve Pennsylvania, according to numbers provided by the state Senate.
Crawford County has a total of 60 fire departments, ambulance services and police departments, according to numbers provided by Clark, meaning there are hundreds of Crawford County volunteer first responders.
Local first responders don’t seek the spotlight but see the special week as a way to get the word out to the public about what they do and what they need to continue doing it, mostly recruiting.
“I think it’s terrific. There should have been one years ago,” Blooming Valley Volunteer Fire Department Chief Joe Smock said. “Maybe it’ll stir some more people to join the fire service.”
Fallowfield Fire & Rescue Chief Adam Valesky hopes someone will want to become a volunteer firefighter after seeing what other first responders have to say.
“Volunteer numbers are at an all-time low,” Valesky said.
Numbers are so low that Blooming Valley and East Mead volunteer fire departments are automatically called out whenever either one receives an emergency, according to Smock.
“Kind of automatic aid to better serve our communities,” Smock said.
Smock blames the dwindling volunteer numbers on state mandated training. To become a basic firefighter, a volunteer needs to have 188 hours of documented training. To become a certified emergency medical technician, one must rack up 2,000 hours of training.
“That’s partly why the volunteer fire service is declining,” Smock said.
Even though he’s a paid firefighter with Meadville Central Fire Department, Smock still volunteers his time in Blooming Valley. Watching his father, Ken Smock, volunteer in community baseball and his grandfather, George Tomer, serve the community as a township supervisor and road master motivated Joe to keep the tradition alive by volunteering with the local fire department.
Madeira T. Paraskos, Conneaut Lake Ambulance Service chief and director of operations, said for her, she’s not a first responder to get glory.
“I think it’s a very nice idea, but I don’t need it. I’m not one to be in the spotlight,” Paraskos said of the statewide week of appreciation. “The satisfaction is knowing you made a difference.”
Paraskos wants the public to know paramedics are much more than ambulance drivers. “It’s a much broader spectrum,” Paraskos said.
Paramedics offer advanced life support care such as cardiac monitoring, invasive respiratory care and administer drugs to those in need on the way to the hospital, she said. An important piece of the paramedic’s job is to provide comfort to victims and victims’ families, according to Paraskos. If a situation goes poorly, the paramedic has to be prepared to offer comfort to the family, she said.
Townville Volunteer Fire Department Chief Justin Sullivan is another person who is carrying on a tradition of community service. His father was the department chief for 16 years. Sullivan started as a junior firefighter at age 14 and is now in his fourth year as chief.
“I’ve just been around it my whole life,” Sullivan said.
Clark, aside from being the county EMA director, is an accomplished first responder in his own right. Clark has 18 years of experience as a Pennsylvania State Fire Academy adjunct instructor and has volunteered for 28 years with fire and emergency medical services in Crawford County.
But Clark hasn’t forgotten where he came from and is one of the county’s biggest supporters of first responders.
“I challenge the residents of Crawford County to go and meet their emergency responders not only during the first week of January but frequently to see who they are, learn their names and tell them thank you. Because it’s not if — it’s when we will need them,” Clark said.
(c)2016 The Meadville Tribune