A long-time volunteer member of the Johnston Fire Department, Obie Herrick, passed away on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. His family asked in lieu of flowers that memorial contributions be sent to the Johnston-Grimes Metropolitan Fire Department. The department has used the generous gifts to purchase two pieces of training equipment.
“Receiving this gift shows the type of person that Obie was,” said Fire Chief Jim Clark. “During his time with the department, he served the community well. His service will continue during training with our members. Our department is certainly thankful for his contributions.”
Prior to the training aids being purchased, Chief Clark spoke with the family about how the memorial funds would be used. “As a former rescue captain during his 41 years of service, the purchased seemed like a way to honor Obie,” said Chief Clark.
The Tension Pneumothorax Simulator and the Cricoid Stick Simulator are two training manikins purchased with the funds. These will help paramedics practice low frequency, and highly perishable skills to save a life. Paramedics practice these skills while in their class, but rarely do they get the opportunity to practice these skills after graduating from paramedic school.
These training aids will allow the Johnston-Grimes paramedics to regularly perform training to enhance their skills.
