A group of Guamanians is one step closer to becoming certified paramedics with the Guam Fire Department. The first group of students from the paramedic program recently returned from Tyler, Texas.

The first group of firefighters from the Guam Fire Department who are students in the paramedic program underwent their hands-on clinicals in the mainland at some of the county fire stations and local hospitals.

Fire Chief Dan Stone told KUAM News, "As you know, we started this program during COVID so obviously there were a lot of challenges that accompanied this effort,but we were able to bridge all those challenges and I absolutely want to thank each and every one of our students in this program for their efforts, their patience, their fortitude in ensuring that we were going to be successful."

Lt. Doug Sherwin, who has been with GFD for 31 years, becoming a paramedic has been a primary career goal of his. "This is what i've always wanted to do, get my paramedic certification/licensure and we're on the cusp of doing that and I'm pretty excited about it," he shared.

For Firefighter Wayne Matanane, his motivation in joining the program was to be able to provide that higher level of care to the people of Guam. "Being a firefighter especially here on Guam, it's always challenging, we always want to challenge ourselves to be better every day, I wanted to do that. I'm a father of 2 beautiful girls, I wanted to show them that I continue to push myself at work so it can kind of motivate them, too," he said.

For two weeks, the group was attached to a private firm that was running ambulance services. FFII Ken Siongco. "While they were running services, they were always having 1 paramedic on there and another EMT geared toward becoming a paramedic. Their EMS system runs a little bit differently than here although we still get the same emergency calls so we're exposed- we felt comfortable and pretty sure on how we were interacting with the general public there, and they were nice, we had a great time," he said.

Siongco says they had an opportunity to be with an outer county fire department there that runs a medic unit, noting, "We're firemen, we know the fire station is our house and they are our family, and that's exactly what they did - they treated us like family."

And with the hands-on practicals complete. What does this mean for GFD?

Chief Stone said, "With the skills and equipment our paramedics are going to have available to them, they are basically going to be able to bring the ER out into the community. So anybody that needs advanced care, they will be able to provide those services to them."

The students are just steps away from becoming the first certified paramedics for GFD. For Matanane and Siongco, he feels there is a sense of not only pride but responsibility.

"To set the bar high and show them that we are capable. For me, it was really exciting. It's groundbreaking for the GFD. I feel a sense of pride and I'm very happy for my classmates that are still here and the ones, it will give them an opportunity later on to be the next group and again our goal is just to provide the best service possible for the community of Guam," he said.

"We've been striving for this for a long time. Always trying to get that recognition. A lot of people don't know about Guam. When we went to Tyler, they didn't really know about Guam. We exposed them to our culture and the way we do things here. We educated them a little bit more. We just want that level of certification basically where we can bring anywhere else."

Chief Stone is grateful for all those who helped bring the program to fruition especially the governor and lieutenant governor for their unwavering support. "I would also like to thank and acknowledge the efforts and patience that was granted to us by Dr. Mary Okada and her staff at GCC, Dave Delisola over at Dept. of Labor,, Dr. Mendiola, Dr. Ross, the hospitals that supported us as the students went through their practicals," he said.

It has been a long journey and they dedicate it to their support system- their families. And moving forward, all their hard work and efforts will be in honor of their fallen brother and sister.

"Firefighter Tenorio and Firefighter Sibetang," he stated. "I want to dedicate the rest of my efforts to them too. They could have seen it through just like I did but they are no longer with us. I just wanted to say we love them and we will continue to strive on in their memory as well. They were definitely taken away too early so we are going to see it through for them, as well."