Lexington Fire Department celebrates graduates of an important program

LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — The Lexington Fire Department introduced new members who will work as paramedics, coming at the end of rigorous courses and hours.

Loved ones couldn’t miss the chance to watch the Lexington Fire Department paramedic class graduate and move on to the next step in service. Paramedic Cohort 205 was celebrated on Tuesday.

Students Jayce Higgins and Kailey Gilbert are part of this class.

“It was a long program. It was pretty tough. It took a lot of time and effort. A lot of long nights, early days, but, glad it’s over, and I’m just looking forward to what comes next,” Higgins said.

“It’s such an accomplishment and relief all in one. I’m super excited to be able to go out on the ambulances and serve this community, and I’m really excited to see what the future can teach me,” Gilbert added.

This class of 34 took on 500 hours of classroom time, 232 hours of hospital clinical time, and 400 hours of hands-on time in emergency care units. Lexington Fire Department Lieutenant Chris Crowe is the lead EMS educator, so he had the chance to watch these students grow and develop through the program.

“Next, they all need to complete their ride time. That’s going to be 350 of the 750 hours that they have to complete for the total program. Once they complete that, we do a preparatory class to get them ready to take the exam, and they’ll go take the exam in August,” Crowe said.

Each of these students has their own reasons for serving, but they all agree that it’s to be part of something bigger than themselves.

“Just to challenge myself. I don’t really like taking the easy route, so paramedic classes are just notoriously a challenging course, and I just want to be a part of it,” Higgins said.

“To be on the fire department, you have to be able to talk to people. You have to be able to not only lead people, but your attitude is contagious. It’s important to remember that the attitude that you give people is how they’re going to remember you on some of their worst days,” Gilbert added.