Jefferson County's
Fire and EMS is served by five volunteer fire departments. Four of the
five departments also run ambulances from there stations. These are, by
company, Company #1 - Friendship Fire Company, in Harpers Ferry/Bolivar;
Company #3 - Shepherdstown Fire Department, in Shepherdstown; Company #4 -
Independent Fire Company in Charles Town/Ranson; and Company #5 -
Blue Ridge Mountain Volunteer Fire Company, in
Harpers Ferry. These departments are run by many dedicated volunteer EMTs,
Paramedics, Firefighters, and administrative personnel. Each member puts
in hours of hard work each year to help the citizens of Jefferson County.
From attending many of the required classes each year, to helping with
department fund raisers, volunteers spend countless hours away from home
to help serve there community. A vast majority of volunteers also
work full time jobs, which, in most cases, takes them out of the county.
Such obligations, and
the yearly increase in emergency incidents take there toll on even the
most dedicated volunteers in the county. Needless to say the
volunteer community is being spread very thin. The JCAA was implemented in
1995. They were responsible for finding a way to help the volunteer
ambulance companies. Through much work between the volunteer fire
departments and the JCAA board a plan was made to supplement the all
volunteer ambulance companies. In August 1999 EMT's and Paramedics were
hired to fill the gaps.
EMT's were placed in
each of the 4 ambulance companies Monday through Friday. EMT's in the
volunteer stations assist with daily station duties to help alleviate the
amount of day to day work. They inventory the ambulances daily assuring
they are prepared to respond to emergencies, assist with light station
cleaning and upkeep, data input EMS reports, help maintain and inventory
on site EMS supplies and equipment. Through much data crunching, times
were chosen that gave the maximum help to the volunteer stations.
As of late 2006 more hours had to be
given to cover the uprising number of calls in our county.
EMT's are now
stationed daily 8-6 in Stations 1, 4, and 5 Monday through Friday and 6
p.m. - 8 a.m. Monday through Friday and 24 hour shifts on Saturdays and
Sundays at Station 11 7 days a week.
Paramedics are now
stationed at Station 4 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, at
Station 3 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. 7 days a week, and there is always an on
call Paramedic for ALS 11 if the calls should become too much for the one
medic in station.
Paramedics are
assigned to the rapid response unit ALS 11. This chase car responds to
most of the EMS calls in the county, the first year in operation over
50,000 miles were logged. This unit is operated 24 hours a day 7 days a
week. This unit is stationed at the JCAA Operations Center in Ranson, WV.
During the week a paramedic is assigned with an EMT at Independent Fire
Company.
Jefferson County Fire,
EMS and Police calls are taken by the Jefferson County Emergency
Headquarters. Jefferson County is covered by 911. We are very fortunate
that our dispatchers are Emergency Medical Dispatch certified. This has
been a great step forward for us. They provide callers with prearrival
medical instructions and keep the emergency responders appraised of any
changes in patient status or condition. Jefferson County is moving toward
having "Enhanced 911" which will assist emergency service personnel and
residents alike.
