Local fire departments to receive awards

Three local fire departments will be honored at the 18th annual Star of Life Awards in Columbus.

Eaton Fire Department, Grafton Township Fire Department, Westlake Fire Department and 10 other first responder agencies from across the state will receive EMS Stars at a ceremony May 22 hosted by the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Medical Services , the State Board of Emergency Medical, Fire, and Transportation Services and the Ohio Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, according to a news release.

“An estimated 240 million calls are made to 911 in the U.S. each year, with approximately 1 million emergency runs for EMS in the state each year,” Ohio EMS Executive Director Mel House said in the release. “EMS teams provide critical, lifesaving care to those in need 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, with little fanfare.

“The EMS Star of Life Awards program is an opportunity to thank EMS agencies and providers for the great work they do all year providing pre-hospital emergency medical patient care.”

The event is part of National Emergency Medical Services Week which runs May 20-26. The week is meant to bring local communities and medical personnel together to publicize safety and to “honor the dedication of those who provide the day-to-day lifesaving services of medicine’s ‘front line,’” according to the release.

The release advises anyone interested in in-depth coverage of the event to find their Facebook page by searching Emergency Medical Services or to follow @ OHIO_EMS on Twitter.