Jefferson County fire and EMS service is based in 5 volunteer fire departments, ambulance service is offered by 4 of them. These are the Friendship Fire Company #1, Shepherdstown Fire Company #3, Independent Fire Company #4 and the Blue Ridge Mountain Fire Company #5. These departments are run by many dedicated volunteer EMT's, Paramedics, Firemen and administrative personnel. They put in hours of training to further their knowledge in this fast paced field. Many of them also work full time jobs which take them away from the area. Not only are they responsible for responding to calls for help, they must also have fund raising events to pay for the services they provide.Needless to say the volunteer community is being spread very thin. The JCAA was implemented in 1995. They were responsible for finding a way to help the volunteer ambulance companies. Through much work between the volunteer fire departments and the JCAA board a plan was made to supplement the all volunteer ambulance companies. In August 1999 EMT's and Paramedics were hired to fill the gaps.
EMT's were placed in each of the 4 ambulance companies Monday through Friday. EMT's in the volunteer stations assist with daily station duties to help alleviate the amount of day to day work. They inventory the ambulances daily assuring they are prepared to respond to emergencies, assist with light station cleaning and upkeep, data input EMS reports, help maintain and inventory on site EMS supplies and equipment. Through much data crunching, times were chosen that gave the maximum help to the volunteer stations.
Paramedics are assigned to the rapid response unit ALS 11. This chase car responds to most of the EMS calls in the county, the first year in operation over 50,000 miles were logged. This unit is operated 24 hours a day 7 days a week. This unit is stationed at the JCAA Operations Center in Ranson, WV. During the week a paramedic is assigned with an EMT at Independent Fire Company. More information about ALS 11 is on the ALS 11 page.
Jefferson County Fire, EMS and Police calls are taken by the Jefferson County Emergency Headquarters. Jefferson County is covered by 911. We are very fortunate that our dispatchers are Emergency Medical Dispatch certified. This has been a great step forward for us. They provide callers with prearrival instructions and keep the emergency responders appraised of any changes in patient status or condition. Jefferson County is moving toward having "Enhanced 911" which will assist emergency service personnel and residents alike.
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