Tri-Township Fire & Rescue in Sellersburg approved as paramedic-level agency

SELLERSBURG, Ind. (WDRB) -- A southern Indiana fire department is stepping up its level of care when it responds to emergencies.

Tri-Township Fire & Rescue has been approved as a paramedic-level agency.

The department has five firefighters who are also trained paramedics, and plans to have one paramedic on every shift.

"We knew right now this was really needed because of the shortage of paramedics in this state," said Fire Chief Amir Mousavi. "South of Columbus, we're, as far as we know, we're the only fire department that is providing paramedic-level service as a non-transport agency."

Tri-Township firefighters are also EMTs, and able to provide Advanced Life Support Care. Certified paramedics can provide more care than before.

Tri-Township's service area stretches 64-square-miles, and includes 10 miles of interstate. In total, it serves 27,000 people from three townships: Silver Creek, Carr and Union. That includes the Town of Sellersburg, portions of the Town of Clarksville and Memphis.

Mousavi said nearly 70% of calls are for medical emergencies. Having firefighters double as paramedics also allows care to begin before an ambulance arrives on scene, and continue during transport if a paramedic is not on board.

Tri-Township will continue to work with New Chapel EMS to transport patients, but Clark County Health Officer and Indiana State EMS Medical Director Eric Yazel said the state of Indiana has a shortage of paramedics, and it's no different in Clark County.

Yazel describes Tri-Township's efforts to fill the gap as a creative solution.

"Utilizing fire personnel, which have a high level of professionalism and skill, and moving to a paramedic level allows them to provide that skill out in the community, and it’s a big deal for our area," said Yazel.

Firefighter Jacob Metcalf and Captain Darius Mousavi are two of Tri-Township's recently-certified paramedics. They spent nearly two years in training while working full-time to achieve paramedic certification.

While the range of care they can provide is vast as paramedics, they said often the most common problem they see is cardiac-related.

"A lot of people have heart issues and I myself have been able to treat someone having a heart attack as a paramedic," Metcalf said.

"Being able to determine that they're having difficulty breathing because of a heart issue, that's care, like we talked about, is not something a lot of people can do around here and that's truly what the community needs," said Darius Mousavi.

It is Tri-Township's goal to hire and train more paramedics in the coming years.