Peninsula Daily News for Sunday, February 16, 2020
Our Peninsula
SECTION
ALWAYS ON CALL
The Port Angeles Fire Department B Shift works together during a drill at the old Rayonier site in Port Angeles. The crew was tasked with quickly
and efficiently extracting a “victim” from the donated car using hand and power tools.
Fire department ready and willing
to provide emergency aid in city
VOLUNTEERS WANTED
Have you ever thought about becoming a vol-
unteer firefighter/EMT? Our local fire districts are
always seeking volunteer community members to
assist them in emergency calls.
Required training
Becoming a volunteer requires a large initial
commitment. Volunteer firefighters/EMTs are
required to successfully complete a 120-hour
(four months) firefighter recruit academy and a
120-hour (three months) emergency medical
technician class; EMS responder volunteers are
required to complete the 120-hour emergency
medical technician class, according to the Port
Angeles Fire Department’s website.
Peninsula College offers a course.
Visit www.tinyurl.com/PDN-PC-EMT or contact
program coordinator Keith Bogues at kbogues@
cityofpa.us for further information.
Once you have completed the initial required
training, your monthly commitment will vary
depending on the needs of the department and
community.
Minimum qualifications
• Age: You must be 18 years old.
• Education and experience: You must have a
high school diploma or equivalent qualification. You
must be able to read and write the English language
fluently enough to perform the duties of a firefighter
and Washington state EMT. Prior medical or fire-
fighting experience is not necessary.
• Driving record: Applicants must have a valid
Washington driver’s license and a history of safe
driving habits.
Applications to volunteer with the Port Ange-
les Fire Department/Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue can be
obtained at the Port Angeles Fire Department
Headquarters Station at 102 E. Fifth St., or you
can download the application at www.tinyurl.
com/PDN-PAFDvolunteer.
For information on volunteering with other fire
districts, please visit their respective offices or
websites.
Above, paramedic Mike Ingraham, left, checks
the functionality of a new ambulance stretcher
while senior EMT Todd German assists.
Below, paramedics Tyler Gage, left, and Doug
Eaton clean up the kitchen at the Port Angeles
Fire Station at the start of their 24-hour shift.
Photos by Laura A. Foster/Peninsula Daily News
By Laura A. Foster
Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — The 24-hour shift is just begin-
ning when the first call rings out in the station.
Just like in a TV drama, someone shouts, “There’s our
first one!” and Port Angeles Fire Department’s B Shift
springs up from the kitchen table and heads down the
stairs to the truck bay.
Unlike the screen
theatrics, the fire- ALSO . . .
men’s pole, although ■ Scan this QR
remaining as a sym- code with a
bol, is no longer in use smartphone to
here; the stairs are watch a video of
safer. the Port Angeles
Rosters haven’t Fire Department
been officially set for performing rescue drills.
this recent Thursday,
so there’s a bit of con-
fusion as to who’s taking the call. But this team has done
this before, and paramedic Tyler Gage and senior EMT
Todd German hop into Medic 11 to assist an elderly man
who had fallen from his bed.
During work and outside of it, firefighters/paramedics
are trained to see and respond to emergency situations.
They put hours upon hours into learning what to do and
when to do it when a person is in distress during their time
in EMT classes, paramedic school and fire academy.
Great expectations
Capt. Kelly Ziegler, who has been with this department
since 1995, said it’s not uncommon for crews to get 20 or
more calls in a 24-hour shift — which is what each crew
works: 8 a.m. to 8 a.m.
“I was a union officer for almost 20 years, and I’ve pre-
pared contracts over that time and I’ve never found a
department that’s close to us that runs more calls per
firefighter than we do,” he said. “We’re busy.”
Just like any other business in the country, the depart-
ment has times of being short staffed.
“It’s hard to hire people,” said Gage, who has been with
the fire department for two and a half years.
“A lot of people are retiring and there’s not enough
[trained people] being put out from the paramedic schools.
It’s hard to find people because there’s more jobs than
there are paramedics.”
But on the upside, PAFD is willing to put EMTs
through paramedic school and fire academy.
Its latest full-time recruit, Tyler Wildeman, started as
an EMT, and PAFD sent him to fire training academy.
“Willing to invest in good people,” he said, the depart-
ment sent him to paramedic school.
“The biggest thing they stress is teamwork,” he said.
“They told me when I started, ‘We can teach you to be a
firefighter. We can teach you all the skills you need. But
we can’t teach you to be a good team player.’ ”
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