A Bailey Island woman has become the latest person to step up and volunteer to be an Emergency Medical Technician to answer rescue calls in Harpswell.
Wendy Frechette, who joined the Orr’s and Bailey Islands Fire Department last year, recently completed her training program and was certified as a Maine EMT.
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| EMT Wendy Frechette |
“Since I have a background as an EMT and have enjoyed helping people during their greatest times of need, it seemed logical that becoming Maine-certified would be a way to give to OBIFD and our community,” she said.
A stay-at-home mother of two young children, Frechette holds a Bachelor of Science degree in adolescent development from the University of Arizona, where she first became as an EMT.
“I worked on a movie set as an EMT for stunt people during their practices and live shows,” she said. “I also was a mountaineering guide in Canada as well as Sea Kayaking guide where I utilized my skills as a Wilderness EMT. I have held EMT licenses in Arizona, Washington and now Maine.”
Frechette and her husband, Rob, a designer, moved to Bailey Island a year ago with their two young children, Dylan and Gabriella. They previously lived in Brunswick and Seattle, Wash.
Benjamin A. Wallace Jr., who serves as chief of both the Orr’s and Bailey Islands and the Cundy’s Harbor fire departments, said Frechette helped fill a critical need for EMTs in town, but more are still needed.
Whenever someone in Harpswell calls for help in a medical emergency, a crew of volunteers from one of the town’s three fire and rescue departments will respond, along with a paid paramedic working on contract for the town. The volunteer ambulance crew includes EMTs to work with the paramedic to provide hands-on emergency care and drivers to help transport the patient to the ambulance and hospital. The volunteers are on call around the clock and respond whenever they are available.
Wallace said there is an urgent need for more EMTs, especially in Cundy’s Harbor, where several volunteers are approaching retirement. The Cundy’s Harbor department has launched a special effort to recruit new EMTs, in addition to ongoing recruitment efforts for both medical and fire volunteers for all three town departments.
Frechette said she has found the experience rewarding, especially when she is able to bring some comfort neighbors in distress.
“I think any time you can assist anyone during their greatest time of need -- no matter what the call is, from holding a hand to providing basic life support -- when your community member can manage a slight smile during those calls it means a lot to me as a responder, that for that moment they felt cared for and a little less stressed out,” Frechette said..
She also praised the camaraderie of the OBIFD crew and the department’s commitment to serving the community.
“It has been a joy to work alongside such a diverse group of people all coming together with a common goal to respond and assist those who call us,” Frechette said. “We all come from different work backgrounds, different parts of the country, but yet when it comes time to respond, we come together and provide patient care to those who called us no matter the hour."
She urged anyone in town possibly interested in helping to come join their local department.
“It honestly takes a village to take care of the village,” she said.
OBIFD is an all-volunteer department which provides fire and medical rescue services for Orr's
and Bailey Islands and portions of Great Island south of Stevens Corner Road on Route 24,
including Long Point, and Mountain Road east of the Ewing Narrows bridge. It works in collaboration with the Cundy’s Harbor and Harpswell Neck fire and rescue departments and the town’s full-time contracted paramedic service.
For more information on OBIFD or joining the volunteer crew, visit www.obifd.org or facebook/obifdmaine, via email at volunteer@obifd.org or call 207-833-5405. Information is also available at the town-wide recruitment Web site at www.harpswellfireandrescue.org.