Emergency medical professionals spend their careers helping save their patients from illness, injury and death. But their own lives are also put in danger on the job.
Whether it’s traffic collisions, downed power lines or violent patients, many hazards affect EMS personnel both mentally and physically. An estimated 13 EMTs die on the job each year in the United States, according to the Department of Labor. About one-fifth are struck by other vehicles, 11 percent die from a heart attack and 9 percent from homicide.
In Maine, seven emergency medical services professionals have died in the line of duty in the state’s history. Organizers of a new interactive memorial in Augusta aim to honor them.
The Maine EMS Memorial and Education Project is the brainchild of Kevin McGinnis, former state EMS director, and Rick Petrie, a paramedic who serves as the fundraising chairman. The project seeks to recognize the sacrifices EMS professionals have made, honor EMS leaders and supporters, and inform the public about the state’s system to ensure public safety.
The memorial is being built on the state capitol grounds in Augusta, complementing an existing memorial honoring Maine firefighters and law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.
“The vast majority of the public don’t interact with EMS until they need it,” said Petrie. “They don’t understand our role in the community or the hazards we face.”
The project, which relies on donations, is unfolding in two phases. The first phase crowdfunded $125,000 to build a now-completed glass “Star of Life,” a six-pronged lighted star with the rod of Asclepius — a universal symbol of medicine — in the center. Petrie hopes to raise another $45,000 to complete the second phase, which will include additional benches, expanded landscaping and illuminated granite markers celebrating each person honored.
Also part of the memorial is an interactive audio feature inviting visitors to dial a number on their cellphones to listen to the stories of the seven Mainers who gave their lives while performing emergency medical services.
Donald MacIntyre was a flight nurse who died in an Airmed helicopter crash on a stormy night 21 years ago. The sole survivor, air ambulance pilot Sean Rafter — who later was charged with manslaughter for continuing the flight despite bad weather — crashed the helicopter in Casco Bay, killing three on board, including 48-year-old MacIntyre. MacIntyre died on the job, providing care and transporting a 70-year-old burn patient from Ellsworth to Portland. Paramedic Matthew Jeton, 25, also died.
MacIntyre’s son Micum, a Vermont resident, said he’s grateful for the EMS memorial project and the hard work organizers have put in to install the lasting tribute to his father.
“Although it was over 20 years ago, it was still really hard to talk about it for the audio tour,” he said. “I’m afraid I still haven’t worked up the nerve to listen to it. I’m grateful that [the memorial organizers] are keeping the memory of my father and Matt alive. I can’t say in words how much it means to me.”
Another paramedic immortalized in the audio tribute is Peter Carbonneau, who died unexpectedly from a medical condition while filling out a patient care report at his station in Van Buren on April 8, 2012. Carbonneau, 51, worked with the Van Buren Ambulance Service for 29 years.
“Thank you for not forgetting my brother,” wrote Bill Carbonneau on the Maine EMS Memorial and Education Project.
Peter LaPlante, the Van Buren ambulance director, described Carbonneau as someone who lived a life dedicated to serving others.
After listening to the experiences of the memorial’s honorees, visitors can dial in to learn about the background of the EMS symbol and hear interviews about the everyday lives of 13 paramedics and emergency nurses from across the state.
For Petrie, the goal of the project is to give people a better understanding of what drives EMS personnel to help and heal.
“I would really love it if someone just called the number sometime,” he said. “You can listen to the audio from anywhere.”
For EMS personnel, each call brings new challenges, said David Bucello, a 30-year EMS veteran who works for Southwest Harbor Ambulance and recorded a message for the project’s audio tour.
“Every time we respond to a Code 3 [with lights and sirens], we’re subjecting ourselves to some sort of danger,” he said. “You never know what you’re going to face. A call could yield either nothing, or something crazy.”
Chris Baker, a paramedic who has been in public safety since 1992, said he has responded to more than 10,000 calls, and many led to dangerous scenarios where he feared for his life.
“The most violent encounters I had were in the back of an ambulance,” he said. “Imagine having your face smashed and having to roll in the back of an ambulance with an 18-year-old drug addict that wants to rip your face off.”
But Baker stressed that he, along with many of his colleagues, doesn’t seek adoration or credit for his service, though he supports the memorial project. In a way, his drive to help people is selfish, because it makes him feel good, Baker said.
“It heals my soul and makes me feel pretty damn good, knowing that my abilities can help people,” he said. “The things that I’ve seen and done cause me personal stress. But I wouldn’t trade them out.”
The most important events on the job for EMS personnel often are not the dramatic rescues but the simple human connections made every day, Baker said.
“Bearing witness to humanity is all I need,” he said. “When I think back on my career, some experiences really set deep.”
Barbara Demchak, director of EMS at Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan, said the public is largely unaware of the risks of emergency medical care. She listed the most common hazards as exposure to fatal illnesses, managing violent and inebriated patients, exposure to chemicals and toxic substances, and the biggest life-taker, traffic accidents.
“I think the EMS memorial is an amazing project,” she said. “Sadly there are already too many names on it.”
Because paramedics and EMTs often arrive on scene before police, they face potentially dangerous situations. Demchak described a time when four paramedics were held at gunpoint for hours by a mentally ill man who initially called 911 for “acute chest pain.”
Along with domestic violence, traffic accidents produce hazardous environments.
“If a patient is trapped in his crashed, crumpled vehicle, one of us is going to crawl in there with him,” said Demchak. “EMS providers are always just one back, knee or shoulder injury away from ending their careers.”
Now through the Maine EMS Memorial Project, community members can gain a little bit more insight into a world many EMTs consider misunderstood.
“It’s important for the citizens of Maine to see and hear this project,” Baker said.
To listen to the The Maine EMS Memorial and Education Project audio tour, call 207-480-3104.