LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Lexington's fire department announced a new grant to assist firefighters and help them continue doing what they love.
Lexington Fire Chief Jason Wells explains, "Really, you can't overstate how important it is to have a group like that, that's willing to come in, receive all of this additional education and then go out and ride an ambulance that's gonna be making 12, 15, 18, 20 calls in a 24 hour period. They really are very, very busy, but they do what they do because they love helping people, and I think it should make us all proud."
The federal 'Assistance to Firefighters' grant totals $928,655 and will help 27 firefighters get more advanced emergency medical training and certifications. Those 27 firefighters are EMT-Basics, and after nine months of training, they'll become EMT-Paramedics.
Chief Wells says, "There's a lot of skills that an EMT-basic cannot perform that an EMT paramedic can, such as administering certain drugs, certain cardiac related treatments and that sort of thing, starting iv's and...those types of things that really can be the difference for somebody that's having a significant medical emergency."
In 2021, NBC News reported a nationwide shortage of EMTs and paramedics. They reported that of full-time EMTs, 47% reported a career change as a reason for leaving the job. Here in Lexington, Chief Wells says that the community's support has made a program like this one possible.
He explains that the community support "Has allowed us to develop our accredited paramedic program in-house. So, when a recruit comes to the Lexington Fire Department, they are here to help people, they're gonna receive some of the best firefighter training, they're gonna receive amazing EMT-basic training, and then after their probationary period is up, two-thirds of those folks opt to go on to become trained as licensed paramedics."
Chief Wells says with more training, the firefighters will be an even stronger source of support for Lexington's community.
