Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Portales firefighter EMTs Duane Rogers, left, and James Bray restock and clean one of the Portales Fire Department ambulances Tuesday afternoon as part of their shift.
National Emergency Medical Services Week might be a time for the Clovis and Portales communities to recognize those in the life-saving business, but for local fire departments, it's a time to get in some extra training.
"This is basically a week where we review our training as much as possible," said Clovis Fire Chief Michael Nolen, adding that his department will be holding testing dates for new hires June 1-3.
Nolen said the emergency medical flight company AeroCare will be making breakfast for Clovis firefighters today and Thursday to honor them and, at some point this week, Plains Regional Medical Center will be holding a luncheon for them.
"The personnel of the CFD, from administration to firefighters, are absolutely the most dedicated individuals I've ever had a chance to work with," Nolen said. "The Portales and surrounding volunteer services absolutely demonstrate the integrity and professionalism of the job, and I would like to give a shout out to them (this week)."
Portales Fire Chief Gary Nuckols said his department will spend the week holding training sessions, including Safety and Wellness Day in which they cover health and well-being topics for the firefighters/EMTs and an education day to teach CPR to new city pool employees. The department also gave a tour of the department to school children on Tuesday and is giving another one today.
"We have a great group of individuals on our staff," Nuckols said. "They're committed to serving our communities with not just emergency medical services but also fire suppression."
