West Jefferson Medical Center (WJMC) EMS is donating $500 to the Wears Valley Volunteer Fire Department in Wears Valley, Tenn. to help build living quarters for EMS crews in an area that doesn’t currently have 24/7 EMS service.
A year ago, wild fires devastated rural communities in the Smokey Mountains. As a result of the fires, three people died. One of them lived in Wears Valley.
Wears Valley Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tony Patty said that response times are an issue for EMS crews covering Wears Valley. Currently, there isn’t 24/7 ambulance service in the area. The closest ambulance services are seven to 10 miles away. Those extra miles could mean the difference between life and death, according to Patty.
“We’re looking to raise between 40 to 50 thousand dollars to build female and male living quarters at our Wears Valley Volunteer Fire Department headquarters—two bedrooms, and two bathrooms. This will help provide faster response times.”
“In Louisiana, we’ve all been through a catastrophic event, whether it was Katrina, or Isaac. or the recent flooding. Coming together as a community to help each other out just reinforces not only the brother(hood) and sisterhood of EMS, but of all first responders,” said Amanda Gonzalez, WJMC EMS paramedic. “24/7 EMS should be available everywhere, especially somewhere so rural. You never know if it could be your family member, or friend, that might need help. As a first responder, knowing why we got into this--ultimately to help other people, and not to be able to do that because of funding—it hurts us emotionally.”