It is a half-hour drive from Fairfield or Deweese to the nearest emergency room.
Residents here are fortunate that they can have their pick of hospitals— Aurora, Geneva, Hastings or Superior—but medical emergencies, like a heart attack or stroke, can’t wait 30 minutes for help.
With 14 volunteer emergency medical technicians (EMTs) on standby, local residents in the Fairfield-Deweese- Spring Ranch area are fortunate that emergency medical assistance is just a 9-1-1 phone call away.
“Being in a rural area, folks need medical help as quickly as possible,” Matthew Friend, one of Fairfield’s newest EMTs, said.
“I think everyone should either go through an EMT program or at least get some basic first aid and CPR training,” he added. “Eventually we all will get sick or need medical help, so the more folks who know how to provide first aid, the more people that can be saved or helped.”
Clay County News’ Ashley Swanson highlighted the importance and need for more volunteer EMTs in recent years, and many county residents responded by electing to go through the rigorous training process to do so. As an incentive, some local volunteer Fire and Rescue departments choose to reimburse new EMTs for the cost of the training program.
Fairfield Rural Volunteer Fire and Rescue’s newest class of EMTs—Friend, Josh Dittmer of Fairfield, and Jared Brockman of Deweese— completed their five months of classroom and practicum instruction this spring. Passing the exam places them on a registry accessible online through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
“It was actually a lot more intense than I thought it would be,” Friend said. “I spent pretty much all of my free time studying and learning the material.”
“The training takes a lot of work,” he added, “but it was very satisfying to pass the tests and certification.”
The EMT training was as much of a juggle for Dittmer.
“After taking care of the animals and spending time with my wife and son,” he said, “I would start studying almost every night for the upcoming class. It was a lot of commitment on not just myself but my family as well.”
Dittmer thanks his wife, Christina, for helping him balance his responsibilities at home with his class time, studying for tests, and riding along with Hastings Fire and Rescue during their 12-hour shifts.
“Definitely wasn’t easy,” Dittmer said, but it was easier because of the support from his family and Fairfield Volunteer Fire and Rescue.
For Dittmer, doing the work to become an EMT was a natural next step.
“I’ve always enjoyed trying to give a helping hand and giving back when able, too,” he said.
In addition to sitting on the Fairfield City Council, Dittmer serves in a variety of volunteer roles in the local community and wider area.
“I had joined the Fairfield department on the firefighter side,” he said. “When there was a medical call, I would go to help with lift-assist or anything else that they needed. I wanted to contribute more and help care for the patients properly.”
Brockman credited his reason to be part of this spring’s EMT class to a promise he made to another EMT 10 years ago when he joined the Fairfield Rural department.
Friend’s decision to pursue an EMT certification was multifaceted. His background includes seven years working as a pharmacy technician and another seven years as a social worker.
“So I enjoy the medical field and helping people,” Friend said. “After the natural disasters in other states last year, I thought it would be good for me to have some first aid training in case there is some kind of national, state, or regional emergency.”
Joining Fairfield Rural Volunteer Fire and Rescue was also a way for him to get more connected with the community.
“I go to work and then go home,” Friend, who moved to Fairfield in 2008, said. “I realized how few people I actually know. I’m quiet by nature, so I figured this would be a way I could force myself to spend more time with folks around the area and develop friendships.”
While the EMT training was intense, Friend found the connections he was looking for.
“You end up spending a great deal of time with the other folks in your EMT class,” he said, “and I found them all to be a great group of folks who really care about helping others.”
Friend especially enjoyed his hands-on training with Hastings Fire and Rescue.
“I found it very interesting to see how they work, joke, have fun, and are serious about their job,” he said. “If I was 35 years younger, I would really consider being an EMT full time.”
Friend’s EMT training emphasized the critical importance of volunteer EMTs in rural areas.
‘I think everyone should either go through an
EMT program or at least get some basic first aid and CPR training. Eventually we all will get sick or need medical help, so the more folks who know how to provide first aid, the more people that can be saved or helped.’
Matthew Friend Fairfield/Deweese EMT “My biggest takeaway I guess, would be two things,” he said. “The first is how fragile the human body is. There are just so many things that can go wrong. The second is how isolated we are in this area and in need of good health care.”
Dittmer mentioned that he was surprised to learn how much the scope and practice of EMTs hve changed over time.
“We’re able to offer a lot more now and provide better care for the patients,” he said.
By law, EMTs are trained to assist patients with bleeding control, providing oxygen, treating shock, administering some medications, performing CPR, using an AED device for cardiac arrest, and other basic life support.
EMTs can choose to pursue additional training to become Advanced EMTs, as Fairfield’s Lyndsay Schlick and Deweese’s Megan Brockman did in 2024, to be able to start intravenous (IV) lines, administer additional medications, and perform advanced airway management.
“We are so appreciative for all the hard work and dedication of our crew members,” said Blythe Herbek, a longtime EMT who lives near Deweese. “The Fairfield Fire District is very lucky to have such a great crew.”
While a team of 14 EMTs may seem an abundance, the nature of this volunteer role means that not every Fairfield- Deweese-Spring Ranch EMT is available when a medical emergency happens. The larger the EMT pool, the more likely there will be enough EMTs when needed.
“I think joining your local volunteer department is a great way to give back to your community,” Dittmer said. “With a lot of the departments being made up of members from all over, with all their own walks of life—farming, working local, working out of town—the more members you have, the better chance someone will be around to help when it’s needed. Time is a huge factor in providing the best care needed.”
That said, not everyone who volunteers for their local Fire and Rescue feels that now is the right time to fit EMT training into their calendars. They can still make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
“When you go to a [rescue] call,” Dittmer said, “it’s a dark, hard time for the patient and their family. Even if you don’t get to be directly helping the patient, you can be helping the family. It might not seem like much, but it might be just what they needed.”
However, a person decides is their best way to help others, kindness and caring is a positive contagion.
“Be the light,” Dittmer said. “Lead the way for others.”
Editor’s note: The reporter on this story, Rita Brhel, would like to publicly thank Fairfield Volunteer Fire and Rescue for their prompt middle- of- the- night response in October 2023 that saved her life. Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit said that her outcome would’ve been very different if care had been delayed even a minute longer. Volunteer EMTs are lifelines in rural areas.
