10/07/2025
22 years ago, as I was getting my small children ready for church, I noticed several emergency vehicles outside my house. My 5-year-old neighbor had fallen off her bike and was lying unconscious in the street.
As I looked around, I saw several familiar faces from our community — some still in their Sunday best — kneeling beside her, offering care until the ambulance arrived. They dropped everything to help someone in need. Watching them that day touched me deeply, and I felt inspired to do the same.
After talking to a few people on the department, I submitted an application to become a volunteer EMT in Elk Ridge.
Over the years, serving as an EMT has meant sacrifice — long nights, missed family events, and leaving at a moment’s notice — but it’s also brought deep rewards: moments of compassion, teamwork, and gratitude that I’ll never forget. There have been calls I wish I could forget, but there have also been moments when I know, without a doubt, that I made a difference.
Unfortunately, the needs of our community have grown dramatically. Over the last several years, our population has more than doubled, and our call volume has risen right along with it — while our volunteer EMT force has been cut by more than half.
We need help.
We need more people who are willing to serve — to train, to prepare, and to show up when it matters most.
I’ve heard many people say they’re too busy to volunteer in this capacity. The truth is, every single person on our department is busy. Some are in school, many work multiple jobs, and all of us have families, church responsibilities, and other commitments. But we make time because when someone in our community dials 911, someone needs to answer.
There has been discussion about outsourcing our city’s emergency medical response to nearby departments. But doing so would often increase response times — and while a few minutes might not matter on every call, sometimes those minutes mean the difference between life and death.
There are people living in this community today because we showed up quickly when it mattered most.
Would longer response times be acceptable if it were your loved one waiting for help? Who would be an acceptable sacrifice?
This year, a new state bill was passed that extends health insurance benefits to qualifying EMTs from small volunteer departments like ours. Along with potential health insurance benefits, there is also monetary compensation for time spent on calls and trainings.
If you or someone you know has ever thought about serving — now is the time to step up. We’ll train you, we’ll support you, and you’ll be joining a team that truly makes a difference.
Our community needs you. 💙🚑
