by Jim Ghiglione and Mary Clark, Lopez EMS

Lopez Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. What you may not know is that the primary staffing is provided by volunteers who are trained as Firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT). These volunteers are a hardworking group of Lopezians committed to helping you, their fellow Lopezians, in times of emergency. In short we are your “neighbors helping neighbors.”

The Department invites anyone interested in learning about volunteer opportunities to meet with your firefighters and EMTs, ask questions, look at equipment and apparatus, and find out about our upcoming firefighter recruit class. If you have been considering joining or if you’re just curious about what we do and how we do it, now is your time to investigate. We are planning a firefighter recruit class for this fall and have an informational meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 10 at 6 p.m. at Station 41, 2228 Fisherman Bay Rd. Refreshments are provided and staff will be on-hand to answer your questions.

When volunteers are asked why they initially volunteered for Lopez Fire and EMS they talk about wanting to be of service to their community, to give something back and maybe test themselves to see if they could do this demanding but vital job. After going through the training and responding on emergency calls, what they find is not only the satisfaction of helping their fellow Lopezians but discovering hidden talents and abilities within themselves. Plus an association with some great people in the Lopez Fire amd EMS family and the internal warm glow of knowing they helped make a difficult time for someone easier.

Lopez Fire has had men and women from 16 to 60 volunteer, and all of them have found it to not only be a rewarding way to serve the Lopez Island community but a positive, life changing experience.