Bureau County communities in need of EMTs, EMRs as Princeton classes approach

There is a nationwide EMS shortage, and Bureau County communities have not been immune to the issue.

It is causing longer wait times.

Coming up soon there will be EMT and EMR classes at the Princeton Fire Department, 2 S. Main St.

The first class offered is the Emergency Medical Responder and it will run from Oct. 18 to Nov. 23. This class will be from 6 to 10 p.m. Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays. The deadline to get registered for the EMR class is Friday, Oct. 4.

An EMT class will start Nov. 2 to Feb. 27. This class will run from 6 to 10 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. The deadline to get registered for the EMT class is Oct. 18.

There also will be a class offered in Sublette from Jan. 6 to May 29 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

If you are in the La Moille District the fire department trustees will pay for your class. If you are interested in attending any of these classes, reach out to Jayme Reed 815-503-0208 or Jen White 732-489-2303.

The La Moille Ambulance is in need of EMTs and EMRs. The department is hiring EMTs paid on call. If you are located in La Moille and an EMT you can be on call at home but if you are located out of town, you would be required to stay at the fire station. Contact Jayme, Jen or the La Moille Fire Department trustees Mike Leffelman, Steve Stouffer or Keith McClain.

The EMS shortage is not only affecting La Moille but also all of the other local departments as well. This class is open to the public, so if you are not local to La Moille but still want to take the class reach out to your local ambulance service. Some contacts are Wyanet rescue at wyanetrescue@gmail.com or contact Allison Foster or Sharon Weborg. The Sheffield rescue contact is Pat Stier or Mark Hamiestet, the Tiskilwa rescue contact is Randy Philhower, the Buda fire and rescue contact is Alexis DePauw, the Manlius rescue contact is Ken Brummel, the Walnut rescue contact is Deanna Wilt or Robert Miller, the Malden first responders contact is Travis Rossler or Jerry Jackson, the Ohio Fire Department contact is Sam Woke or Zach O’Brian, the Mineral Fire/Ems contact is Jon Blackett, and the Bureau Fire/EMS contact is Tim Shipp or Samantha Shipp.

Most of the aambulance departments in Bureau County are volunteers and need help. There also is Princeton Fire/Rescue and 10/33 Ambulance LTD that cover multiple towns. If EMS is something you think you would like to do, reach out to your local department.