After a year of planning and eight months of training the Waupun Fire Department is ready to launch an Emergency Medical Responder program. Waupun Fire Chief B.J. DeMaa says paid-on-call EMR services will be offered starting February 1. DeMaa says Emergency Medical Responders are dispatched when the ambulance is called to provide initial patient care until the ambulance arrives, or assist paramedics on the scene. DeMaa says the program will start with eight EMRs, with the hope of eventually having 15. DeMaa says the EMR program will help fill coverage gaps when call volume exceeds ambulance capacity that can lead to a delay in medical care from trained personnel by up to a half hour.
