CENTERBURG — In 23 years as a paramedic with the Centerburg and now Central Ohio Joint Fire District, Fire Chief Joe Porter has seen some changes in the operation of a department. And then there are parts of a department’s procedures and equipment that have changed little.
Porter became a volunteer with the Centerburg Fire Department in 1985 with training as an intermediate medic. With more training he was certified as an EMT in 1987 and a paramedic in 1989.
Training runs throughout the life of paramedics. To stay current, training goes on almost continuously. Porter himself just completed some updated training. The state is monitoring certifications closer and paramedics work consistently to stay current.
Squads have better chassis and drive trains but the squad “box” has not changed that much over the years, Porter said. Also remaining much the same are drug and medications carried on the squads. Heart monitors have become much more sophisticated. Early ones recorded basic functions of the heart. Paramedics used their truck radios to relay the information to the hospital emergency rooms. The latest monitors record much more information that is transmitted to the hospital via cell phones.
Twenty-three years ago when Porter started as a volunteer the Centerburg Fire Station was just off the square in Centerburg. They averaged about 120 emergency runs a year, an average of about one run every three days. Today they answer emergency calls about 900 runs per year.
As in most departments all the personnel are cross trained as firefighter-paramedics. The COJFD load has grown from an all volunteer service to where there are four full-time people on each 24-hour shift.
Another veteran paramedic with the Centerburg Department, Hugh Dick, went on to fly with the first MedFlight helicopter service from Grant Hospital in Columbus. He is still working and “runs” with Delaware County EMS.
