Volunteering with EMS is ‘humanity in motion’

Above: Zachary Patierno, chief of department for the Bedford Hills Fire Department left, with new member Robert Murray. Below: Cesar Perez, captain of the Katonah Bedford Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps. ( Herb Foster photos)

By HERB FOSTER

If someone worked to establish a hierarchy of volunteers, people in emergency service roles would rank at the top of the list. The length of their training, the amount of time required and the importance of the work they do puts them in the premier volunteer position.

Most volunteer ambulance and fire personnel have to go through extensive training before they become licensed and active. And once this initial stage is done, they need to do continued training, cover regular shifts and respond to emergency calls night and day, taking many, many hours from their day-to-day lives.

To become a basic firefighter, a person is required to take over 144 hours of training, held at Westchester County Department of Emergency Services in Valhalla. Spread over 16 weeks, the instruction covers two phases: basic exterior fire operations and interior fire operations. But that is just the basic level. There are additional required courses, such as hazmat and survival that take time. This is all before they become an integral part of the department. If they join the rescue truck, they need to become immersed in all equipment and procedures, the same if they are in a pumper unit.

“The in-class portion is massive,” said Robert Murray, who recently joined the Bedford Hills Fire Department. “The textbook is very thick, and it covers soup-to-nuts in terms of processes and equipment, plus a general understanding how fires burn structures.”

The emergency medical service requires 180 hours of training to become an emergency medical technician, with courses offered at various places around the county, followed by the state practical exam. There are options available in terms of course length, but even an accelerated one still takes six to eight weeks. Beyond those hours, there is homework, studying, and commuting time.

“The 180 hours of EMT training is significant,” said Dan Murtha, a captain with the Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps. “But once someone completes it, they have earned a certification that puts them in a position to provide essential, and sometimes, life-saving EMS care to their community.”

“It’s a huge commitment “Murtha said, “I think that once you get your foot in the door, you realize that it isn’t as daunting as it seems. If you really want to make a difference you have to put some horsepower behind your effort.”

“For all these volunteers,” Murtha continued, “every call takes them away from their jobs, hobbies, families and sleep. We have, you know, teachers, finance guys, home improvement guys, museum staff, people from all walks of life and we all come together when the alarms go off or to make sure that we’re coming to our neighbors in their time of need.”

The challenge for these service organizations is that volunteerism is declining in Westchester, and across the country. 

Capt. Cesar Perez of the Katonah Bedford Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps said the volunteer shortage presents a “dire situation.”  The organization receives 900 to 1,000 emergency calls a year. For every hour of every day, they need to be prepared to put an ambulance on the road, with a licensed EMT and an authorized driver, at a minimum, and hopefully a crew person.

KBHVAC organizes its schedule on six-hour shifts and people sign up for a specific period. The puzzle that it (and other EMS organizations) wrestles with constantly is scheduling. While the corps has 40 EMTs, only 30 are actively riding. The same is true for authorized drivers. As a result, on a minimal number of occasions, such as multiple calls in their district, they have to admit they cannot get an ambulance in service, but go “mutual aid,” which means asking another agency to respond.

The responsibility for this falls on the agency’s third lieutenant, Bob Franklin, who sends frequent messages to all members outlining shift needs. Excerpts from a recent email: “Monday morning we need a driver or an EMT 6AM to noon; Tuesday morning we need an EMT from 6AM to noon; Wednesday night we need a driver or an EMT 9PM to midnight.” 

When the pagers go off, members respond as needed but planning is difficult.

Recruiting new people has many challenges. There is a mistaken belief that a medical background is required. Volunteers have to juggle EMS duties with full-time jobs, family responsibilities and other commitments. But clearly, the time commitment is the major difficulty for most people.

“Most people join because of community service, community commitment,” said Zachary Patierno, chief of department for the Bedford Hills Fire Department. “Anyone who joins the fire department is thinking this is a way to help my community, a way to help my fellow neighbor, like our Bedford Hills Fire Department slogan, ‘neighbors helping neighbors.”’

Perez said the time commitment might appear to be massive but is “very manageable.” And, he said, important.

“To volunteer in EMS is to answer the call before it’s made — offering courage, compassion, and calm in someone’s darkest hour. It’s not just service, it’s humanity in motion.”