Toby Tyler, Chief of Fire
38 Park St.
Pepperell, MA 01463
For Immediate Release
Friday, May 8, 2015
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 978-743-0004
Email: john@jgpr.net
Pepperell Fire Department to Celebrate EMS Week
PEPPERELL — Fire Chief Toby Tyler is pleased to announce the Pepperell Fire Department will celebrate the 41st annual National Emergency Medical Services Week from May 17-23.
EMS Week brings together communities and medical personnel to publicize safety and honor the dedication of those who provide day-to-day lifesaving measures to residents throughout the Commonwealth.
Every year, a theme is determined to help guide a uniform recognition effort. This year the topic is “EMS Strong.”
The Pepperell Fire Department provides the town’s EMS, which employs four full-time paramedic/firefighters that operate the ambulances 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
A large group of dedicated and professional on-call Emergency Medical Technicians and paramedics amplify the department’s resources. The volunteers live in town and respond side-by-side with the full-time staff at a moment’s notice to any call for medical aid.
These calls for help come in during dinner, family celebrations, early in morning, and in the midst of blizzards and hurricanes.
“Despite receiving calls in the middle of the night, at previously scheduled parties or events, and during states of emergency, our staff and volunteers stay EMS Strong,” Chief Tyler said. “I’m so proud of the men and women of Pepperell who come in every day ready to work hard and serve our community. If you happen to see any of Pepperell’s paramedics and EMTs during National EMS Week this year, give them a friendly wave or say a kind word to these heroes.”
Along with responding to emergencies, the Pepperell’s EMS company and full-time staff teach multiple CPR classes to the community and offer constant continuing education for all levels of EMTs.
They also train with three other fire department companies for situations involving motor vehicle crashes and extrication, firefighter rehab operations during fires and fire-related incidents, and work with neighboring towns to provide mutual aid response.
“Pepperell is extremely fortunate to have the broadest level of pre-hospital emergency medicine,” said Scott Murray, Director of Emergency Services at Nashoba Valley Medical Center. “This allows their providers to bring the same care to the patient out in the field that we provide in the emergency room in times of an emergency”.
President Gerald Ford declared the First National EMS Week November 3 -10 in 1974. It wasn’t observed again until 1982 when the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) reinstated its recognition. In 1992 EMS Week was moved to the third week in May in order to separate it from National Fire Prevention Week.
ACEP describes this year’s theme as follows:
“EMS Strong is the willingness to keep learning and growing, as an individual and as part of a profession that’s evolving into a true partner in the healthcare continuum.
EMS Strong is what allows people to trust you with their secrets, with their nakedness, with their safety, with their very lives or the lives of their loved ones. It’s also what makes you able to accept the burden of that trust.
EMS Strong is what draws you to help, what empowers you to face danger when others are running away. It’s there in those moments, big and little, when you find out what you’re made of. It’s what makes you proud. It’s what keeps you humble.
EMS Strong is precious, but it doesn’t belong to you. It’s on loan to you, and you need to pay it back with interest for future generations.
EMS Strong is us. EMS Strong is you.”
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