Clinton Fire hopes to take advantage of online paramedic training

By Randy Bell

Getting a firefighter trained to become a paramedic is an expensive proposition. But Clinton Fire Chief Levius Buckley has come up with some money to work toward the goal of having a paramedic on every shift at every fire station in the city.

“The going rate for paramedic school is about $8,000 a person,” Buckley says. “That would eat up our training budget pretty quick.”

But the chief says he was able to move some money around so that two firefighters could undergo training with a Texas-based company which offers online coursework.

“It’s a newer program – School of EMS,” Buckley explains. “A lot of area departments are using it. It’s firefighter-friendly. I think that the program was designed by firefighters.”

Buckley says the online component allows the paramedic students to stay on the job longer, limiting the impact on fire department manpower.

On its website, the School of EMS says the online training is “designed to accommodate varying work schedules,” and says students should plan to invest, on average, ten to twenty hours a week in the program. The company says the entire paramedic course, including in-person training, typically takes forty-five weeks.

Although the School of EMS corporate offices are in Texas, it could soon become more convenient for Clinton firefighters.

“They’re trying to get a home base here in Mississippi,” Buckley says. “They got one in Louisiana and other areas. We’re just talking about it to see when we can get something started here.”

He hopes to get at least five to six additional paramedics in the department to push the total to twelve to fifteen.

“That’s a pretty lofty goal,” the chief admits.