The Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services (FES) recently graduated the latest class of paramedics.
The program is a collaborative effort between the FES and Faithful Guardian Training Center, and has been a three-year process meant to bolster the county’s paramedic numbers, said Fayette County Clerk Tameca White.
“The program allowed for students to attend classes off-shift at the department’s training center at no cost to the employee. A competitive process is undertaken to award the slots available each year in the three-year cycle,” White said.
Commenting on the accomplishment, Fayette County Manager Steve Rapson said, “Our fire department now provides all levels of training from entry level, firefighter and AEMT (advanced emergency medical technician), to becoming a paramedic. This critical training program has now yielded nine paramedics from our existing firefighters, and reflects a progressive response to a challenging retention position.”
Also commenting on the recent graduating class, Fire Chief David Scarbrough said he is “…proud of the sacrifice and dedication that each of these members demonstrated during the 18-month course. It is a testament to the quality of our membership and their dedication to public safety, their community and to life-long learning.”
White said the course consisted of 420 hours of classroom and laboratory instruction, and over 350 hours of field internship, culminating in a national certification test.
This class is the second of three classes to graduate, with the third class scheduled to end in the coming months. Upon completion, the program will add more depth and capability to the Department’s EMS function, said White.
