Page 38 - Winter 2021
P. 38
School employees
In Oconee, the people who respond to fires and car accidents are volunteers who will drop everything to help during an emergency. The seven fire stations in Oconee County are covered by 175 men and women with only four paid employees.
The basic fire training for each volunteer firefighter is the same as required by paid departments across the state and country. It involves 205 hours of classroom and hands- on training as well as written and skills tests.
save lives,
People may also become an emergency medical responder. Most of the applicants also go through an 84-hour emergency medical responder course and 36 hours of practicals on an ambulance.
photograph
firefighters
Oconee Fire Rescue volunteers have all sorts of jobs, ranging from law enforcement to public education. Oconee the Magazine featured Malcom Bridge Middle School Principal Michael Eddy in its summer 2018 issue. Now, three more employees of Oconee County Schools—Duane Peterson, Nelson Foell and Mark Parsons—share why every minute of public service outside their full- time jobs matters.
By Kathie Anderson
sKathie Anderson is an artist and freelancer writer in Watkinsville. PAGE 36 | OCONEE THE MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021
