Salisbury Fire Department

ANNAPOLIS -- Emergency medical services workers at the Salisbury Fire Department and the Ewell Volunteer Fire Company recently received awards for their rescue efforts and development of training programs for lifesaving protocols. The Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems awarded the Star of Life Award to the fire department and fire company Tuesday at the Maryland Senate Building. "This is the one week out of the year that we take to recognize the work that EMS workers do," said Dr. Robert Bass, the executive director of MIEMSS. "In Maryland, they respond to half a million calls each year." MIEMSS has issued the awards for more than a decade. Lt. William "Rob" Frampton, a Salisbury Fire Department paramedic, was given the award based on his accomplishments in EMS education, patient care and the integration of new technology in EMS. "I was very humbled," Frampton said. "It's a huge honor. I owe a lot of it to the team. It's a team effort from the administration down to the person who implements the protocol." Frampton, one of 27,000 certified or licensed EMS providers in the state, developed a hypothermic treatment training program for EMS workers in Wicomico County. The treatment involves inducing hypothermia in post-cardiac arrest resuscitated patients. "It saves the cardiac muscle from going dead," Frampton said. The city fire department is the first in the state to develop a training program for the treatment protocol. Frampton also developed a cyanide poisoning protocol training program for EMS workers in Wicomico County. "Certainly it's a great award recognizing the outstanding contributions of not only Rob but all of the firefighters and providers that are members of the Salisbury Fire Department," said Jeff Simpson, Salisbury Fire Department chief. "He represents all of their good work."