History of the Brooke County Emergency Medical Service

Planning for the development of the Brooke County Emergency Medical Service began in the Spring of 1973.  At that time, new legislation was passed in West Virginia placing the responsibility of having an adequate EMS system in each county of the state to the commissioners of each county.  Before this time, the ambulance service was in fact the funeral home.  James, Chambers, and Carte Funeral Homes were the medical service before 1973.  Although, these funeral homes did not want to have to conform to the many new EMS laws that were coming out at the time and decided to leave the business behind.  Two ambulances were donated by James and Chambers Funeral Homes, a Cadillac and a Buick.  The keys to these vehicles were passed over to the members of the new Brooke County Emergency Medical Service on Easter Sunday at midnight in 1974. 

    The first call on record for the ambulance service was on March 31, 1974.  It was to the Follansbee Police Department where an officer was pushed through a plate glass door by a prisoner.

    The first official Director for the Brooke County Ambulance Service was Ron Hassen.  The first full-time shift supervisors were hired to maintain control of the 100 plus volunteers eager to go on the 80 to 90 calls per month.  These first supervisors were John Hill, Robert (Doc) Martin, Ken Miller, and Wilma Williams.  Later that summer, the service added a third ambulance to the fleet, a rental Cadillac.  Late in 1974, Ron Hassen resigned as director and was replaced by Jack Stankiewicz.  Stankiewicz served as director until 1978.  During his tenure, two dodge van ambulances were purchased with the aid of a 50/50 grant from the state office.  A third ambulance was placed into service in the spring of 1976.  In May of 1976, the ambulance service acquired its first paramedics, three to be exact.  The first baby delivered on an ambulance happened on November 18, 1976.  In 1977, the service received a garage to house the ambulance that was located in the county court house. 

January of 1978, Mary Kay Radvansky was named director to replace Jack Stankiewicz.  Paul J. Sicurella was named the first Assistant Director.  In this same year, the squad started providing ALS service. 

Paul J. Sicurella was named Director in May of 1987 after the resignation of Mary Kay Radvansky.  John Schwertfeger was named assistant director.  In 1990, the ambulance service opened a second station located in Follansbee, underneath the fire department.  Also in 1990, the Brooke County EMT Team won the state Championship at Logan.  The team consisted of Bernadette Hundagen, Lea Teeters, and Eva Cole.  In September of 1990, the Follansbee station and one ambulance was destroyed due to a flash flood.  In 1991, the Brooke County EMT team successfully defends its' state title at Morgantown.  The team consisted of Lea Teeters, Bernadette Hundagen, and Faye Shultz.  Paul Sicurella resigned and in January of 1992, John W. Schwertfeger became director and Karen Heidenreich became assistant director. 

January of 1996 brought the flood that destroyed Station I in Wellsburg.  The EMS service was temporary located in the Bethany Pike Fire House and the billing department in the Ostrosky Insurance Building.  Station I was remodeled and the EMS service returned there in April of the same year.  The most recent flood occurred in September of 2004 in which Station I was again destroyed.  The EMS service is temporarily located at the Wellsburg Fire Department and at Station II in Follansbee.  The billing department is temporarily located in the Brooke County Board of Education building.