Morrow County EMS Station #1 is one of five stations in Morrow County which was established in 1972 under the direction of the late Richard Young, the first Morrow County EMS Coordinator before becoming the Mt Gilead Fire Chief.
In 1971 area funeral homes made a decision that they would no longer be providing emergency services. A group of Fire Chiefs got together to see how they could solve this problem. This group came up with the idea of establishing the "Morrow County Firefighter's and Squadsmens Association with Dick Young the Chairman. They put together a plan went to the Morrow County Commissioners to ask for their help in establishing a Morrow County EMS. It was decided to place a 3-mil levy on the ballot and it passed overwhelmingly.
Next the group went on a rampage looking for volunteers to serve as EMT's (Emergency Medical Technicians).
The service was initially ran out of the fire stations until the bays could be added to the stations and plenty of volunteers could be found to cover squad duty.
Morrow County had the first volunteer service certified by the state of Ohio along with the establishment of a central number to call for any fire/medical emergency. It wasn't 9-1-1, but it was close in 1972!
There have been many dedicated people who have served as members of the Morrow County EMS and a few have passed on since its inception, but there are always new people to step forward and pick up the responsibilities.
Morrow County EMS has made many advancements over the last 25 years of service moving from an all basic service to advanced EMT's allowing IV's to be placed in the field, and now to full advanced life support care now being given. Full advanced support means squad personnel can start definitive care in the field, which allows more advanced care to begin by physicians upon arrival at the hospital.
Today, we have 4 stations staffed on duty at the station from 6:00 am until 6:00 pm. Those stations are located in Mt. Gilead, Cardington, Marengo, and Johnsville. Also between the hours of 9:00 am and 9:00 pm we have a Supervisor/Paramedic on duty, that responds to Advance Life Support Calls, such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, Auto Accident etc. He/She is responsible for making sure that the County is still covered by EMS Trucks, by moving trucks around to ensure that we have a truck available to respond to any emergency.
From 6:00 pm to 6:00 am we are still here, however our crew are not required to stay at the station during this time.
The Iberia Station (Station # 4) is the only all-volunteer station in Morrow County EMS system.
Morrow County EMS Station # 1 is located beside the Mt Gilead Fire Department, currently has active members that cover 8,736 hours per year, 365 days.
Morrow County EMS is under the direction of the EMS Manager Jeff Sparks who oversees the entire operation. Each squad station has one Captain.
At Station # 1 the Captain is Brent Staley EMT-P who has been with the Morrow County EMS Station #1 since 1988. Brent took over the Squad Captain's position in June 1996. Brent works full time for Delaware County EMS as an EMS Duty Shift Captain and resides in Mt Gilead with his wife Teresa and two daughters Alissa and Kristin and son Alex. Teresa works for the Delaware County Sheriffs Office as a Communication Specialist, as well as part-time 9-1-1 Dispatcher in Morrow CountyThe Morrow County EMS pays for squad training. If you would like to speak to any member of the Morrow County EMS or have them come to your organization to speak about the EMS system, please call Captain Brent Staley at 419-947-6826. You may also email to Brent Staley bstaley@columbus.rr.com