WALTON, Ky. — The Walton Fire Protection District received national recognition from the American Heart Association for being responsive and helpful in situations involving heart attacks and strokes.
Every day brings its own challenges for the department and firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician Dan Ely knows his job about more than a paycheck.
He told Spectrum News 1, “I found out it was more rewarding to help folks than it was to be paid a fortune. I liked what I did as a volunteer and I wanted to do it full time.”
When they aren’t saving lives, Ely and his colleagues stay busy training. Some days, he says, are spent practicing for when a fire call comes in and other days are more EMS focuses.
Ely said, “We keep ourselves in tip-top shape as far as our skills to help in whatever situation gets thrown at us.”
The EMS training is paying off with national recognition. Battalion chief Steve Maselli says the district has received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline EMS Recognition. They give the award to agencies for their quality of care for heart attack and stroke patients. Maselli says it’s his job to make sure Ely and other firefighters are prepared for success through training.
“Make sure they have the latest training tools available to them, the latest updates. But at 2 o’clock in the morning, they’re the ones that show up at your house with the latest training, the latest tools and provide the best care possible to anyone in need,” Maselli said.
Ely says they make more EMS than fire runs and an award like this is a nice perk.
One of the Firefighter EMTs showing up to people’s homes is Dan Ely. Ely said the recognition is a nice perk.
“It’s nice to receive that recognition to let you know you’re doing the things that you’re supposed to be doing the way you’re supposed to be doing them.”
Being able to put training and skills to use in the community to help neighbors speaks volumes to Ely.
“We’re excited when we get to go, because that’s what we’ve trained and practiced to do, but we also have to keep in perspective this is someone’s worst day and we have to perform for that person,” he said.
Maselli said they also work alongside local hospitals. The goal is to keep up to date on practices and even keep in touch on the status of someone they did recently help save.
