Fire department has 'life-saving' year

Of all the statistics fire chief Jeremey Criner shared with the city's board of directors, one stood out above the rest.

Thirty-two lives were saved by 24 members of the Siloam Springs Fire Department in 2017. Several fire department personnel saved more than one life in the past year. Branton Thompson led the way with three saves, while Jamie Washington, Jeremy Barr, Daniel Fox, Kevin Parrish, Tony Peevyhouse and Brandon Vick each were credited with two saves.

All were honored during the fire department's annual awards banquet last month.

"These were life-saving awards, or cardiac arrest saves," Criner told the city's board of directors at its Jan. 2 meeting. "Many of these responded and assisted, not just in one, but sometimes two and sometimes three different incidents where there was a cardiac arrest victim that needed our assistance and they were able to make some life-saving actions in those incidents."

Criner, who was hired in August of 2016, also informed the board that his department responded to more than 3,600 incidents in the past year. That represented a 50 percent increase in the number of calls for service since 2007. The department also participated in more than 20,000 hours of training, which was a 75 percent jump from 2016 to 2017, while also participating in 133 public education activities like teaching fire safety in schools, fire alarm installations and prescribed burns throughout the city.

That contributed to the department receiving CAAS Accreditation (Commission on Accreditation for Ambulance Services) in December because of its overall quality of system management and delivery times.

"In the EMS industry, this response is the Gold Standard for EMS Care," Criner said. "Not only are there less than 200 agencies nationwide who have received this accreditation, this makes us one of only 15 fire departments who have been able to obtain this accreditation, so it's certainly an honor."

In the past year, the department received new equipment that "has been great assets to the city," including a ladder truck, two fire engines and an ambulance that was put into service during the last quarter of 2017. A donation helped the department better prepare for emergencies in remote locations with special equipment like EMS bikes and a "UTV," which is an off-road recreational vehicle.

Thanks to a grant, the department also installed automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in all city facilities. A defibrillator is a device that delivers a jolt of electric current in an attempt to restart the heart of a person who is in cardiac arrest. It can be used by fellow employees when action is necessary before emergency personnel arrive, so Criner said his department plans to provide "CPR and AED training" to every city employee "over the next few months."

In addition to the life-saving awards, Criner's department handed out several other honors during its annual banquet. Nominees came from fellow members of the department and were vetted by command staff to ensure accuracy and efficacy.

The Chief's Choice Award, which was selected by Criner, went to EMS Director Brent Ford. Captain Derek Bergthold was named Company Officer of the Year. Kyle Huffman earned Firefighter of the Year. Josh Spencer was the Paramedic of the Year and Brandon Schafer was the Probationary Firefighter of the Year. Shane Schultz won the "Training Hours" award while captain Rob Holland, deputy chief Travis White and battalion chief Adam Rusk earned Meritorious Service Awards for "helping move the department forward" through their participation at several events.

"We've had a great and remarkable year," Criner told the board. "I just want to take a minute to thank the community and thank the board for your continued support and helping to ensure that we can provide the best service possible to our community."