HFD to staff additional Paramedic Unit
HEMET — City of Hemet Fire officials announced today that after six Firefighter/Paramedic positions were recently approved by the City Council as part of the department’s FY18/19 budget, they will be adding a new Paramedic Unit.
The new Paramedic Unit – “Medic 1” – is scheduled to begin service Oct. 1, with the aim of improving Hemet Fire’s emergency fire and EMS response services.
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Medic 1 is a smaller, more maneuverable squad vehicle, and will be staffed with two “highly qualified” Firefighter/Paramedics trained in both Basic and Advanced Life Support, according to Fire Chief Scott Brown.
“Our operational focus has continued to place emphasis on evolving the Hemet Fire Department’s emergency response services,” Brown explained today. “The addition of the Medic Squad is part of a focused strategic effort that places emphasis on building additional emergency response capacity, including implementation of Emergency Medical Dispatch as well as demand driven staffing to address peak demand emergency response needs for the department.
For its part, Hemet’s City Council has strived to ensure that public safety is a priority for Hemet residents, according to Mayor Michael Perciful, who went on to say, “The Hemet Fire Department’s budget /spending plan is fiscally responsible, the services it provides will be measured, and those outcomes will be shared with our Community.”
Hemet Fire Department responded to 16,918 calls for service in 2017 and the addition of Medic 1 will allow HFD to address the dramatic increase in EMS calls for service within Hemet, and “in large degree” was made possible by the passage of Measure U funding, according to Perciful.
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Trevor Montgomery, 47, recently moved to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 14 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.