Ambulance plays unique role in Ashby

By Lauren Radomski (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Friday, March 7, 2008

Since Megan Jensen began an emergency medical technician (EMT) course in January, she has learned the ins and outs of human anatomy, physiology and more.

"So much of what we talk about is situations and scenarios," said Jensen, an Ashby resident who spends eight hours in class each week. “Just the volume of information that we need to know for the testing is amazing.”

When Jensen finishes her course in April, she hopes to join the Ashby Ambulance Service, a Basic Life Support (BLS) service that includes over two dozen volunteer community members. Though it shares a building and many members with the Ashby Fire Department, Ashby Ambulance is a separate entity, providing pre-hospital care and transport in communities extending past the fire district.

Ashby Mayor Tom Grover and Second Assistant Chief Paul Ellingson are both in their 38th year as fire fighters with the Ashby Fire Department. Both are certified EMTs and say Ashby Ambulance plays a unique role in their community.

“We're in a situation where the ambulance is very important for our town,” Ellingson said, “with Fergus 20 miles away and Alexandria 30 miles.”

About 90 percent of emergency calls to the Ashby station are ambulance runs, Ellingson said, with many from Interstate 94 and area nursing homes. Most Ashby EMTs are trained to start IVs and give medication, capabilities found in very few communities Ashby's size. Ashby hosts quarterly training sessions for its EMTs and often sends people to other programs around the state.

“You're not just joining a team of bumpkins,” Jensen said of the group. “You're joining a team that takes it really, really seriously.”

And spots on that team are in demand. As of early February, Ellingson said, there were four or five people on a waiting list for their turns as a fire fighter and/or EMT. Those spots don't seem to open often.

“I'd say we're averaging 10 years,” Grover said of the typical fire fighter's term.

“And the majority stay on for 20,” Ellingson added.

Many members of the fire department and ambulance service have family ties within the station. Jensen married into a family of fire fighters and EMTs, while Aric Risbrudt joined thanks to inspiration from his parents. Risbrudt, whose father, Jim, is the fire chief, has been an EMT for four years and a paramedic with North Memorial Ambulance out of Alexandria.

In a community Ashby's size, the people served by fire fighters and EMTs are practically family as well.

"In a small town, you really develop a sense of duty," Jensen said. "If I have a friend or a neighbor in crisis, I have a duty to help them."

“It’s great going to somebody’s house and being able to help them,” Risbrudt said.