Pictured is firefighter Kevin Beckerink, chief Lant Lictus, paramedic and EMS chief Dr Paul Heslink and trustee and volunteer fire department member Dale Willink. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

CLYMER — The Clymer Volunteer Fire Department has joined the list of departments that are on a desperate search for Emergency Medical Technicians.

There is a law requiring that for Emergency Medical Services within the fire department an EMT is required to go to a scene for a medical emergency in order for Clymer’s ambulance to even be able to leave the fire hall. EMS captain and paramedic, Dr. Paul Heslink, said that other department members are not even allowed to touch or load a patient into the ambulance — which Heslink added the volunteer fire department is very proud to have, with it being the best ambulance in the county –, without an EMT present on the scene.

“We have 11 EMTs, but it is volunteer and people have jobs and they have lives,” Heslink said. “It’s hard to get a response during the day or on a weekend. They are all extremely qualified and very well trained.”

Training is one of the points that Heslink said he thought was deterring people from volunteering to be EMTs, as the training takes a lot of time and effort. It is also mandatory that EMTs continue their education as training and protocols have almost monthly updates. Another big deterrent is the addition of NYS EMS Charts, which are now required to be filled out after every call. The chart is an extremely detailed summary of what happens on an EMS call from beginning to end. The report is similar for every call, from something as small as a toothache to a broken leg. The report is usually submitted days after a call and does not directly affect treatment the patient receives at the hospital.

Trustee and member of the volunteer fire department, Dale Willink, said he has been on EMS calls for 51 years and while he is not an EMT himself he has heard the negative comments on the charts constantly.

“Training to be an EMT has skyrocketed,” Willink said. “There were no charts years ago. It usually takes two hours per call because sometimes we go to Erie so now after that there is another 45 minutes or more to come back and do the paperwork. It is destroying getting EMTs because it is three hours of volunteer time, which is a huge deterrent and something I hear from EMTS all of the time.”

While there are a few things to make being an EMT a challenge, Heslink said it is also fulfilling.

“There is a fulfillment that comes from being an EMT, because sometimes you want to quit but you don’t want someone to die, and you want to help deliver babies, etc.,” Heslink said. “Every person that becomes an EMT has to have that feeling. I have two professions in my life and I enjoy both, and I think that people who wash out of being EMTs do not have that feeling.”

This growing problem in the area has only recently become a problem for Clymer in the last six months. Even with mutual aid from neighboring municipalities it is a struggle.

Willink said the Clymer volunteer fire department traditionally has one of the fastest response times in the county, but if they have to wait for help from neighbors because of a lack of EMTs responding to calls it takes longer. He gave an example of a recent call in which they had to wait for assistance from the Falconer fire department and had to wait in the fire hall for 35 minutes before being able to respond to the call. The department averages 300 or more calls a year.

Even with the lack of EMTs, Jamestown Community College offers a training class which is currently full with 12 on the waitlist. The class occurs three days a week in the evening, and Heslink said other colleges such as Erie Community College and Cornell University also offer courses. Heslink added that they try to encourage people with kids who go there to have them take the course and that the fire department pays for it. While it is required to be at least 18 years old to be certified, people aged 16 and older can take the course. The department is also working to increase the amount of classes offered or the amount of people in the class.

There are four classes of EMTS; basic, advanced — something that is not recognized in this area and that is very regulated on what they can and cannot do –, critical care, which Heslink said is essentially a paramedic with a phone who also has to be given clearance to do anything, and an advanced paramedic, which is what Heslink is.

Heslink has the ability to provide advanced life support, while others can do basic life support. Sometimes he said, going back to the charts, he has the ability to pass the call onto other EMTs to do basic life support, but then it sticks them with the hour long chart to fill out afterwards.

Even with the charts and training, Willink said being an EMT and responding to EMS calls is something that is rewarding.

“Whether you are the driver or with the patient in the back you get to see the progress on the call and that is very rewarding,” Willink said. “We are trying to do a full scale recruitment effort. Becoming an EMT begins with joining the fire department, but besides that there are not a lot of other requirements.”

Requirements to become an EMT in the Clymer area include;

Becoming a member of the Fire department, where you must also live or work in the Clymer or French Creek area.

EMT Training by NYS instructor in Mayville which usually takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and some Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for 16 weeks, approximately 170 hours total

Taking a refresher course every three years, some of which are online

Training on all EMS equipment in the ambulance

Being proficient with a computer

Completing the NYS EMS Chart online after every call

Being willing to respond to calls 24/7 when you’re available.

Heslink said becoming an EMT has the ability to lead to other places in the future.

“It is a career starter and a stepping stone,” Heslink said. “There is so much fulfillment by doing it.”

For more information on how to become an EMT, attend the open house at Clymer Fire Hall Wednesday Feb 7 at 7 p.m., see Barry Neckers at Neckers Company Store or call 716-499-2749, see Lant Lictus at Lictus oil and Propane or call 716-499-6363, or see Dale Willink or call 716-499-3253.