McKenzie First Responder Program Takes Flight

McKENZIE (April 8) — The City of McKenzie’s medical first responder program continues to grow. On Saturday, ten members of the McKenzie Fire Department along with two McKenzie police officers took part in training sessions to become qualified as medical first responders.

The program began in the fall of 2023. Since its inception, the number of first responders has grown from eight and will have 20 at the conclusion of training. Fire Chief Brian Tucker and Battalion Chief Jason Arnold introduced the new program to the City of McKenzie as a way to ensure immediate care to emergency victims.

When the McKenzie hospital closed down, the fire department saw medical calls more than double as need of emergency care increased around the city. There are ambulance stations in McKenzie and Huntingdon, each holding two ambulances a piece. As emergencies occur, Arnold described it as the “luck of the draw” if these ambulances are immediately available. According to a source, on Saturday, April 8, Priority Ambulance / Baptist Hospital Carroll County had only two ambulances, one of which was not fully staffed, available to service the county which measures approximately 600 square miles.

In February, Chief Tucker stated his department received 53 calls. Over half of the calls were medical-related calls. He noted that one particular call took over 40 minutes before an ambulance arrived.

On November 10, 2023, a Collinwood football player was injured during the McKenzie-Collinwood game, medical personnel responded to mid-field to render assistance. After what as described as a “fairly extensive wait” on an ambulance to respond to the scene, the on-site medical people had packaged the patient for transport. McKenzie Fire Department’s First Responder program participated, with other medical professionals, with its golf cart equipped with medical equipment.