Doug Schmidt and Bryan Mathieu are career firefighters in Chittenden County. Mathieu has been with Burlington Fire for 17 years, and Schmidt is in his second year with South Burlington Fire.
Their work is more than fighting fires, though. For the past several decades, fire calls across the country have steadily decreased while emergency medical services (EMS) calls have increased sharply.
Schmidt and Mathieu say most of their calls are for medical emergencies, like difficulty breathing and drug overdoses.
🎧 This story was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a text version of the story below.
Q: Why do you do this work? What’s your favorite part of the job?
A: Bryan Mathieu: Well, this is gonna sound kind of sappy, but it’s to give back. I do this job to help other people.
A: Doug Schmidt: My favorite part of the job is when we can see tangible improvements in somebody’s life as a response to something we’ve done. One of the most rewarding calls I go on are people who have difficulty breathing, because there’s a lot that we can do for that patient in the field, and struggling to breathe is probably one of the most anxiety-inducing, stressful things that somebody can go through. And when you can provide somebody relief, that’s the type of stuff that makes [the job] worth it.
Q: When you first arrive on a scene and meet a patient, what do you look for?
A: Bryan Mathieu: The first thing I do with any patient is try and connect with them outside of the emergency that they have. So when I walk into somebody’s house, the first thing I do is look at their pictures. I look at their items. When I walk into a house and I see a bunch of military pictures, for example, and I see a elderly gentleman sitting there with his World War II veteran hat on, I know that that guy’s proud of that. So if I can talk to him about that, and gain his trust, or comfort him, I want to take that opportunity.
I want to make that personal connection with them, to get them comfortable with the stranger who is now in their house and potentially going to be helping them.
Q: What’s challenging about the job?
A: Bryan Mathieu: When people don’t know what to do or how to do it, the first thing they do is call 911. So a lot of our calls are not necessarily an emergent situation. They’re more of a ‘We don’t know what to do.’ So we do a lot of problem solving, even if it’s not an emergency.
I think what can be challenging sometimes is when people call us for help, but then when we get there, how they treat us. Like, we’re there to help you because you called us. We’re not there to get yelled at or, you know, thrown through the ringer. Our job is to help you, and you’re calling us to help you, so allow us to help you.
Q: Do you think people misuse emergency services?
A: Doug Schmidt: I think a lot of people are misinformed about when to call 911 versus going to an urgent care for issues that aren’t necessarily worthy of an ambulance ride.
Now, obviously, there’s a lot of issues with access to healthcare, for which EMS serves a really vital role to get people to help that they need. But when someone calls an ambulance for a stubbed toe, or for bad nightmares, it essentially just delays care for other people who are suffering from more acute and severe illnesses that might need our help.
Q: What do you want to make sure people know about your work?
A: Doug Schmidt: I think it’s really important for people to know that the fire department is here for you. We are always there and willing and able to help. We’re problem solvers. If you think you have an emergency, or your smoke alarm goes off, or your CO alarm goes off, call us. Like, we’re here. You pay for us to be here. We’re a service that’s available to the community.