Texas Dept. Certifies Half of Its Members to Help EMS

March 15--BLOOMING GROVE -- Out in Blooming Grove, the emergency calls for its volunteer fire department come at the pace of about one every other day. Most of them are medical in nature, Capt. Chad Marshall said.

That's why CPR training is so essential for the rural department.

"We average 210 calls or so a year," Marshall said recently, "... and 60 percent of them are assisting (Corsicana Fire and Rescue) EMS on basic medical calls."

The Blooming Grove Volunteer Fire Department (BGVFD) members try to have patients they reach first ready for a smooth transition to Corsicana once its team arrives, Marshall said, down to even the start of paperwork. CPR can be a big part of that, and in January, the BGVFD certified or re-certified 13 of its 27 members for CPR.

"It's one of our requirements," said Marshall, who is also a dispatcher for the City of Corsicana.

BGVFD firefighters go through a one-year probationary period. To be certified, over the course of that year, members on probation go through a number of classes and training sessions.

Within the last year, Marshall said, the BGVFD started a Junior Fire Program. The station is accepting fire-district living members who are16 years of age or older who go through many of the same types of training, but have a limited number of duties on actual calls.

Four of the 13 certified in January were part of the Junior program.

Just like with high school extra-curricular activities, firefighters in the Junior program have to be passing in school to participate.

"They've done everything we've asked of them," Marshall said.

The BGVFD also has an active Facebook page, where it updates the people who "like" the page on activities, training and on calls.

Among the 27 members overall, BGVFD is fortunate to have four EMTs and two paramedics from other departments. And while most views of a VFD revolve around grass fires, Marshall said medical assistance is a priority in Blooming Grove.

"We put a lot of work into it," he said. "... We try to put just as much training and focus on it. That ambulance is 15 minutes out, so we spend a lot of time with patients."

It should be a welcome thought for folks in the BGVFD district.

"A famous quote out in Blooming Grove is, 'Nothing happens here,'" Marshall said, "but it doesn't take long when people ride with us to open their eyes.

"The fires here are just as hot as they are in Dallas or New York City."

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On the Net:

www.facebook.com/BGVFD

Raymond Linex II may be reached by email at [email protected].