Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services Host Paramedic Graduation

On Tuesday, May 15, the Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services hosted the graduation commencement ceremony for the 2012 Paramedic class.

Speakers included County Administrator Glenn Stephens, Commissioner Mike Beaudreau and Fire Chief Bill Meyers.

According to public information officer Captain Eric Eberly, the department responded to 64,450 incidents in 2011 – 73 percent of those were calls for emergency medical incidents The department is committed to providing the highest level of service to the citizens of Gwinnett.

Providing firefighters with additional training of becoming a paramedic accomplishes two goals, according to Eberly.

“First,” he said in a press release, “having well trained paramedics to assist the department in meeting the citizen's needs on any advanced medical emergency, regardless of what fire apparatus the paramedic may arrive on.

Secondly, these paramedic firefighters will assist the department in providing advanced pre-hospital emergency medical care while the paramedic is working on one of the many fire engines that may respond to emergency medical calls within all fifteen cities and unincorporated Gwinnett County.”