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Randolph County EMS opens Station 3 facility in Harman

This week, Randolph County EMS launched a new facility located in Harman to better serve the public.

HARMAN — In an effort to increase the level of service to the public, the Randolph County Emergency Squad has expanded the agency by opening a new facility in Harman.

Director of EMS Kurt Gainer said he believes the people in Harman and surrounding areas will find that the Randolph County Public Safety Building Cheat District Station benefits their communities.

Randolph County’s Station 3 EMS District will begin at the Alpine Lodge and extend to the Tucker County line to the northeast and the Pendleton County line to the east. This area will encompass the communities of Sully, Alpenia, Glady, Wymer, Whitmer, Job, Dry Fork and Harman.

With the completion of the new station in Harman, Randolph County will now have a total of three stations that serve the entirety of the county. Station 1, located in Elkins, was refurbished in 2008, and Station 2, located in Mill Creek, was completed in 2003.

“This is a smaller, scaled-down version of what our Station 2 is in Mill Creek,” Gainer said.

Similar to the facility in Mill Creek, Station 3 in Harman is equipped with two ambulances.

Randolph County EMS covers a service area of 1,052 square miles. The agency operates with 31 full-time employees, 35 part-time employees and five volunteers.

Gainer explained that Randolph County EMS receives approximately 7,000 calls per year.

“The call volume in this area is about 150 runs per year out of our 7,000 calls per year,” Gainer said.

Because of the additional station in Harman, EMS will now have a full-time daytime staff that will be better able to respond to those 150 calls.

“We’ll also be working closely with Whitmer Volunteer Fire Department and Harman Volunteer Fire Department,” Gainer said.

Because of the station’s close proximity to both Tucker and Pendleton counties, Randolph County EMS will continue to work to offer mutual aid to those areas.

“This station will strengthen our mutual aid with Tucker County and Pendleton County,” Gainer said.

A total of 15 active members will be on staff in Harman. Gainer emphasized that these 15 members are residents of the communities that will be served by Station 3. The 15 members will include 10 EMT basics, three advanced life support personnel and five certified drivers.

“Currently, on staff in Randolph County we have three 24-hour (advanced life support) units, one 12 ALS unit from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m., an administration crew that is ALS in station Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., and the new person in Harman will be on Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m.,” Gainer said.

One paid employee will be on staff in Harman Monday through Friday between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. This employee will either be a certified EMT or a paramedic. On evenings and weekends, the station will be covered by the 15 off-duty personnel.

The station in Harman also has one office on site that can be utilized by EMS crews as well as deputies with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.

“There is an office in the facility that is going to be a dual-purpose office that the sheriff’s deputies can use to stage an interview and those types of things,” Gainer said.

Funding for the Randolph County Public Safety Building Cheat District Station 3 was provided in part by the Randolph County Commission and partly by the Randolph County Ambulance Authority Board.

Gainer said in the future the county hopes to secure funding from the federal government through a grant process in an effort to add another station within the county.

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