Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The town of Huntingdon is at risk of losing its first-responder service.

The municipality issued an urgent plea for new volunteers on January 30, referring to the need as immediate and great.

The town reports that at least 13 individuals have completed the required 60 hours of training in just under twenty years since the service was launched in May 2005. The number of first responders has now dwindled to a total of four volunteers.

Volunteer first responders are trained according to medical protocols to assess and stabilize patients in a variety of situations before an ambulance and emergency medical technicians arrive at the scene. Emergency interventions are often more efficient thanks to this collaboration of first responders.

In Huntingdon, first responders handle about 100 calls annually.

“We want to keep the service,” says Huntingdon’s mayor, André Brunette, though he admits recruitment has become more difficult. “Not everyone is suited to do this kind of work,” he acknowledges, while suggesting that the town is encouraging those with an interest in this type of community service to come forward.

Huntingdon director general Johanne Hébert points out that four people is simply not enough. “They are exhausted. They are on call 24 hours a day. We put certain measures in place, but it comes down to the fact these people are firefighters, they are first responders, but they also have jobs and families.”

As a result, Hébert says first responders presently only respond to calls where there is a high potential of cardiorespiratory arrest. There are four levels of first-responder services in Quebec, and this is the highest priority, but it means there is a greater reliance on emergency medical technicians to respond quickly to severe allergic reactions, severe trauma, and urgent medical calls.

“The population does not have to worry that there will be fewer services if the program were to close,” Hébert says, pointing out that Paraxion paramedics serve the town, and the fire department is part of the regional mutual aid network. “But it is always a plus. We have saved lives,” she says.

Huntingdon assistant director general Caroline Hébert-McKenzie confirms the town is doing everything it can to maintain the service. She says that since going public with their tenuous situation, at least three individuals including one new resident have come forward to volunteer. Several members of the Huntingdon fire department have also voiced an interest. “Things are moving in the right direction,” she affirms, noting the town is already in a better position to keep the service.