CANTON TOWNSHP, OH—Car crashes, asthma flare-ups and heart attacks frequently require the specialized skills of a paramedic or emergency medical technician.
And Jack Liberator, who recently retired as deputy chief of the Canton Township Fire Department after 72 years with the unit, is recognized as being largely responsible for developing the emergency medical response field to its present level across Ohio.
"We have known Jack for a long time," said Melvin House, executive director of Ohio Emergency Medical Services. "We are here for what he has done for EMS (emergency medical services) not just locally, but statewide and nationally. He was involved before it was even called EMS. He developed some of the first curriculum in the U.S. EMS is relatively new. It grew out of the 1970s. Prior to that, if it was provided at all, it was provided by funeral directors. We provide a level of service that I never thought we would have back in the 1970s; the medical procedures, the life-saving procedures. He led the way."
House came to the township from Columbus to participate in a ceremony last week marking Liberator's retirement. Ohio Emergency Medical Services is a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
Joined as a teenager
Liberator's involvement with the township Fire Department began in 1947 when he was a senior attending Central Catholic High School. The Fire Department was a volunteer unit at the time.
"I joined as a teenager, as a kid at Station No. 3 out by Meyers Lake," said Liberator, who doesn't like to reveal his age. "I lived two and half blocks from the station. Teenagers did not have cars at that time, couldn't afford one. I could run to the station and be there as fast as the guys that drove. It was kind of attractive. I watched some other guys in the neighborhood join."
Liberator was strictly a firefighter then.
"There were no EMTs in those days," he recalled. "The only people that did ambulance runs were funeral homes. There was no training except a Red Cross course. There was one private ambulance."
But as his future unfolded, Liberator found himself becoming immersed in assembling an instruction program training ambulance riders to provide emergency medical care.
"It was his calling," said Jon Schneider, a retired captain from the township Fire Department. "He saw a need a long time ago, and he stuck with it."
Liberator temporarily relocated to Columbus and pursued a nursing education. At that time, hospital nursing schools were not accepting men. With his nursing education, Liberator started going to area fire departments giving emergency medical service training.
"After having all the nurses training, I started teaching some of the local fire departments which had gotten an ambulance,"Liberator said.
Eventually, state education officials approached him about launching an instruction program for firefighters.
"I was charged with starting a statewide training program teaching people on ambulances to give more advanced care," he said. "Ohio was the first in the country to have a statewide EMS training program. Other cities may have had it, but not a statewide program."
While in Columbus, Liberator maintained his membership with the Canton Township Fire Department. He and his wife started a family and they returned to Stark County. Not only did he resume duties with the Canton Township Fire Department, he also at some point held administrative posts at Aultman Hospital and Mercy Medical Center.
Over time, the township Fire Department evolved from a volunteer unit to a paid, full-time outfit. Mike Yurkonis, a shift commander, is slated to absorb Liberator's administrative duties.
'A pleasure'
"It was truly just a pleasure for me in my fire service career to work and have that time with him," said Assistant Chief Rick Morabito of the Canton Township Fire Department. "He was well involved at the county level as well. He was involved with the Stark County Medical Control Board. Jack was heavily involved making sure that Stark County was online and on-board with patient care; up to speed with medications, technological advances."
Liberator's dedication to delivering emergency medical care had him also involved with the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival.
"I coordinated for 30 years all the emergency medical care during the Hall of Fame activities," he said. "At each activity we had an EMS center."
As a tribute to Liberator, Ohio Emergency Medical Services created the annual Jack B. Liberator Lifetime Achievement Award.
"We give it to someone who has a lifetime of achievement in EMS," said House of Ohio Emergency Medical Services. "It is a statewide recognition. You have to be special to get that award. We have high respect for what he has done for EMS."
Liberator's career and involvement with emergency response stretches over seven decades.
"It has been a great, great experience," he said. "It has been very rewarding. I love to teach. There is nothing better than to see a young EMT student look up at you when whey they just learned something. You can't buy that."
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