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Twenty-five years later, the Brice Prairie First Responders are still going strong. The organization celebrates 25 years of service Saturday Aug. 23 on the Prairie with “Rockin’ the Prairie” featuring food, beverages, raffles, tip boards and live music. Proceeds from the event will go towards the purchase of a water rescue banana boat.
Kane’s friend had been involved in an accident while riding on his motorcycle. “I sat in a ditch holding his hand for 10 minutes or more,” Kane said.
The ambulance was sitting still waiting for a train to pass to get onto the prairie. That’s when Ron Kane, his wife Linda and the late Steve Hammes decided the community needed some emergency services on its side of the tracks.
After obtaining money, training and a vehicle, the beginning was in November 1983 with 24 members capable of handling all types of calls. Ten members were women.
Two days after they were up and running, they got their first call. “Someone OD’d on antibiotics in the middle of the night, or had a severe reaction to antibiotics, I can’t remember,” Kane said.
“We were at a lot of car accidents and a lot of dramatic incidents. There was a little boy that had seizures from birth. He lived to be 11 years old. We went there a lot,” Kane said.
The first building for the group was next to the store Ron and Linda owned. Three years later, they raised the money for a new building with volunteer labor, donations and their own funds.
After two drownings on Lake Onalaska in 1991, the Brice Prairie First Responders trained for rescues on the lake, using snowmobiles in winter.
The Kanes wish they could be at the celebration this weekend. But they moved to Georgia four years ago.
“We’re sorry we can’t make it,” Kane said. “I can’t believe it’s been 25 years. It was an uphill fight, putting in thousands of hours. But we can’t count how many lives we saved. We performed many CPRs on people who survived. I can’t list them all.”
Chris O’Hearn is now head of the Brice Prairie First Responders. He joined in 2005 and is an Emergency Medical Technician in addition to working as a self-described techie for Midwest Family Broadcasting. He hopes Rockin’ the Prairie raises enough money for the group to buy a banana boat needed for water/ice rescues ($3,500 plus shipping). “We have four ice-rescue suits, so we can enter the water safely without freezing and pull someone out. But, it’s not always the best thing to be on a boat on the ice. A banana boat would allow us to get closer to the victim.”
The Brice Prairie First Responders are grateful for all the successful fundraisers over the years and the continued support of the town of Onalaska for its yearly contribution that covers operating costs. But fuel, insurance, utilities and equipment and maintenance costs are all rising beyond what the town can cover. The ongoing work of fundraising is nothing new to this group.
With an expanding population on the Prairie, the group hopes to get more volunteers. “There’s an EMT class starting at Western Technical College on Aug. 19,” O’Hearn wants people to know. “And a First Responder training starting Oct. 27.”
There are nine active members and one in training. They welcome anyone 18 and older who is interested in becoming a first responder. The group pays the $1,200 cost for training at the first responder level, but if a person wants to train further to be a paramedic or EMT, the volunteer has to pay for it.
Like most of the volunteers, Kim Haeuser didn’t have a clue about what first responders do when she signed up as a volunteer in August 2003. Haeuser is a deputy medical examiner for the county and is used to dealing with dead bodies. Learning how to keep a body living was certainly new to her. Now she is trained as a paramedic.
Haeuser said being a First Responder volunteer is humbling. Responders are limited by their training and sometimes have to watch helplessly when a person needs more advanced medical treatment.
Also, there’s no pay. “The spouses have to be very understanding about your running out of the house at all hours,” Haeuser said. “It’s always inconvenient.”
Amy Scheevel, who is coordinating the Rockin’ the Prairie event, said she once left food cooking on the stove when she rushed out of the house. “What a mess when I came back,” she laughed. Scheevel works for Blue Cross Blue Shield. She said her mother had also served on a volunteer ambulance crew.
Leroy Bierfreund, who is in the Army, joined the BPFR in January 2007, the same month as Scheevel. He said everyone has a “high-speed bag.” His colleagues all looked at him strangely because no one knew what he was talking about. “It’s a jump kit,” he said. “A first responder kit.”
They all thought a high-speed bag sounded cooler.
Carol Trehey said she is a breast cancer survivor and wanted to do volunteer work. “I realized I wanted to give back to the community.”
Trehey, a manager for Kwik Trip, has trained as an emergency medical technician. Trehey is coordinating another fundraising event, a chickencue scheduled for Sept. 7.
With the growing population, O’Hearn and the group also have an eye on the future need of a new vehicle. The responders have a used ambulance they received from Tri-State Ambulance, who also furnishes disposable items such as gloves and needles.
It’s the big-ticket items O’Hearn and the group are concerned about. “We’ve got to start saving for newer vehicles,” O’Hearn said.
With the silent auction and raffle prizes such as a cedar chest from International Furniture, a football autographed by the Green Bay Packers, a GPS system, a flat-screen TV, cash and more, it looks promising the community will show their support. All they need is for the weather to cooperate.
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