Nutley Commissioner Alphonse Petracco and the Nutley Fire Department want residents to know — there’s much more to being a Nutley firefighter than just putting out flames
“(EMTs) can respond anywhere in town in less than two minutes,” Petracco said. “(That’s) 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”
Firefighter/EMTs are often the first ones at a scene. Because Nutley’s firehouse is centrally located, crews may get to a location quickly and start immediate emergency care. Early actions such as CPR, stopping bleeding, helping someone breathe or using an AED can make a huge difference in whether someone survives a medical emergency.
Firefighters also come across injured people at car crashes, fires, rescues and other incidents.
EMT training lets them assess injuries right away, stabilize patients and give critical care until paramedics take over or the patient gets to hospital.
“We actually just had many examples of the advantage of having the EMTs within the fire department over the last few months’” Petracco said. “When we were hit with those two massive snow storms, we were able to send the fireman ahead of the EMTs so they could clear a path to enable the EMTs to get into the house as quickly as possible. That allows us to get to our residents faster and gives us a better chance of getting the help they need.”
Having EMT‑trained firefighters also helps everything run smoother between the fire department, EMS and local hospitals. Firefighter/EMTs know how to clearly explain what’s going on with a patient so paramedics and doctors may pick up right where they leave off. Most communities see more medical calls than fire calls these days, and Nutley is no different. Giving firefighters EMT training helps them to handle that demand and still keep the overall level of public safety high.
“Our fire department, led by Chief Paul Cafone, is committed to protecting lives with rapid deployment, solid medical skills and ongoing training,”Petracco said. “We are all about quick response, professional wisdom and compassion. Having EMTs on the job means residents get immediate help when they need it most and it shows how serious we are about serving and looking out for this community.”
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.