40-year Randolph County EMS employee retires
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ELKINS -- After dedicating 40 years to helping take care of the public when emergency situations arose, Elkins resident Ritchie Hamrick has retired from the Randolph County Emergency Squad.
Hamrick started his career with the Randolph County EMS in 1986, just days after earning a diploma from Elkins High School.
“I graduated from high school and three or four days later I started at the squad,” Hamrick said. “I started out as a volunteer and I answered the phones and did the radios, because back then there wasn’t any 911. And I did that until they got me onto the driver’s list, and then I started doing some driving and have been doing it ever since.”
Hamrick said he started driving ambulances less than a year after he originally started with the Randolph County EMS. and became an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) 16 years ago.
Hamrick’s grandfather, Haymond Spicer, was a founder of the Randolph County Emergency Squad and was influential in him wanting to become an employee at Randolph EMS.
“It started out in Runner’s Funeral Home and then they got their first little building that was big enough for one vehicle and two fold-down beds,” Hamrick said. “They had one telephone on the wall and a radio and that was it. I got to work for my grandfather for two or three years before he retired. He’s the reason I got into wanting to work for EMS. I would go down and see him at work and I kept getting into it more and more each time I was there.”
Hamrick said he was shown the ropes of the profession by many different paramedics, including Brenda Dailey, Gladys Rosencrance, Janet Mullenax, Pam Harper and Heather Brown.
“A lot of people who taught me are unfortunately not with us anymore,” Hamrick said. “The two people who supported me the most with everything, though, were my wife Lavonne and my oldest son, Trevor.”
Trevor worked alongside his father until the last day before his retirement.
“Trevor is an EMT and we got the chance to work together for 10 years,” Hamrick said. “Trevor is a heck of a driver and a great EMT. I can’t say anything bad about the way he does his job whatsoever. But I have three boys all together (Trenton, Tanner and Trevor) and they’re all doing good.”
Like most first responders, Hamrick admits there have been times over the years when the job took its toll on him emotionally.
“There’s a lot of things in my head that I wish I didn’t see, still to this day,” Hamrick said. “You never know what you’re going to get when you go out to a call. You just try to put certain circumstances out of your head and do what you’re trained to do.”
Along with the bad, Hamrick said there were also times when working for the Emergency Squad provided happy moments.
“I have people see me out in public at the stores or wherever I’m at and they come up to me and thank me for helping them or another member of their family,” Hamrick said. “Those times make you feel good about doing what you do.”
Even though being retired is going to mean more freedom for Hamrick, he admits he is going to miss the job he’s done for so long.
“I enjoyed working for the squad for all those years and got to meet a lot of people because of my job,” Hamrick said. “I had a lot of good times and a lot of good memories about working there. I’m going to miss it, but I will find something to do.”