EMS

Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

TFD's EMS history literally started in the back of a Chevy Step Van on April 1, 1963. The van, TFD 5, was converted into a rescue vehicle by department members after benchmarking other departments statewide. TFD received its first rescue-ambulance in 1974 through the generous donation of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Johnston. James Pinky Luedtke became the first Thiensville EMT, and was soon followed by Ed Michalski, Sr., Rick Siemann, and Robert Warber. In 1977, the department added its first female members Jean Ewens, RN and Kathleen (Pat) Rausch. TFD was the first Ozaukee County volunteer fire department to use cardiac monitoring and defibrillation through the assistances Dr. James H. Lefty Hamm. In 1979, the department became the first EMS service in Ozaukee County to formally utilize manual cardiac defibrillation, which resulted with the certification status of EMT-DM in 1984. A second ambulance was acquired and the department began formal EMS training. TFD's first EMT-Bs included: Julie Brady, RN, Brian Bublitz, John Kukla, Laurie Kukla, Hans Longo, Blake Reichgeld, RN, and Assistant Chief Robert Warber. 1988 saw the addition of IV-Tech level care to the TFD EMS arsenal. These newly classified EMT-IVs included: Steve Bartlein, Julie Brady, RN, Tom Jacobsen, Paul Javins, Dianne Luedtke, Pat Rausch, Blake Reichgeld, RN, and Jan Starznski, In 2004 TFD became the first and only Ozaukee County volunteer fire department to provide Paramedic level EMS service. Five of TFD's current members started the service: Julie Brady, RN, Andy LaFond, Judy LaFond, RN, Blake Reichgeld, RN, and Randy Short. TFD currently has 15 paramedics on its roster and offers a Paramedic intern program in which training and education is provided by the department in return for a service commitment. Our paramedic program currently does paramedic intercepts with all other Ozaukee County fire departments and some departments in Washington and Sheboygan County. Our paramedics respond with our intercept vehicle to help with advanced patient care. EMS personnel respond to an average of 550 calls per year, with approximately 65% of total call volume being requests for paramedic-level care. TFD transports patients to hospitals throughout the metropolitan Milwaukee area, and has a partnership with Columbia-St. Mary's Ozaukee to provide BLS, ALS, and Critical Care hospital to hospital transports. TFD's volunteer paid-on-call EMS personnel are visible and active within the community and county, serving as resources for countywide community service events, mutual aid respondents, community training and education providers, and stewards of community activism.

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