In anticipation of National First Responder’s Day on Oct. 28, Charles Middleton and the Greene County Safe and Secure Foundation took the opportunity to donate essential equipment to agencies in Greene County tasked with providing public safety, including the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, Greensboro Police Department, Greene County Fire Departments and EMS Ambulance Services.
According to a story by Lynn Hobbs in Lakelife magazine, Middleton’s father was a North Carolina Sheriff killed in the line of duty when he was five years old.
Years later, after Middleton’s wife, Kelley was involved in a high-speed collision on Interstate 20, Kelley and Charles decided to start the foundation in 2013.
“We are committed as much as possible to help first responders,” Middleton said. “The more we can give to the community to make it more safe and more secure, the more it will be safe and secure. Kelley and I just believe in our first responders and in giving them all the tools possible to help them do their jobs.”
The foundation spent approximately $20,000 on bulletproof shields for Greensboro and Greene County law enforcement this time around.
“We had a situation the other day on the interstate where a guy barricaded himself inside a tractor trailer and the [Georgia State Patrol) requested us out there and needed shields,” Greene County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said. “We took the shields out there, but fortunately we didn’t need them. But it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.”
The foundation also donated one Lucas 3 automated chest compression system at a cost of $50,000 to Greene County first responders.
The Lucas 3 system is used by EMTs to treat heart attack victims. The Lucas improves success and safety for both the patient and the caregiver by delivering a continuous steady level of chest compressions over long durations during transportation. The foundation has now donated two of the devices to Greene County first responders and hopes to have all ambulances similarly equipped very soon.
The foundation also donated a drone to the Greensboro Police Department, and Chief Rodricus Monford, Assistant Chief Tommy Nelson and Lt. Latravis Baugh were out at the Greene County Industrial Park getting some instruction from Middleton’s grandson Gage Middleton on the afternoon of Oct. 25.
Chief Monford seemed pleased with the new drone and said that piloting it reminded him of a video game.
For rural counties, where budgets are tight, the drone gives law enforcement eyes in the sky almost immediately without the wait for an assisting helicopter from another agency, according to law enforcement sources.
The foundation has also provided equipment to the 911 call center, Animal Control, DNR, Air Life Services, and the Georgia State Patrol previously.
“We couldn’t do it without the help of the community,” Middleton said. “The foundation is designed to support the safety of our citizens by supporting the first responders who make it safe.”
Greene County’s Novellis Corporation was a major contributor to the charity recently, donating $10,000 while the 100 Who Care/Del Webb Lake Oconee group chipped in another $4,500.
Items the Foundation has provided over the years include reflective vests for the EMTs and EMS department, bulletproof vests for sheriff deputies and the city’s and county’s K9 officers, two professional drones and animal oxygen masks for pets rescued from fires by the Greene County Fire Department.
Foundation committee members who consider and approve the allocation of funds include Middleton, EMS Director Joe Bashore, County Manager Byron Lombard, Police Chief Rodricus Monford, Sheriff Donnie Harrison and Jimmy Britt. The late Doug Hesse was also a member of the board until his passing last month.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, 4.6 million career and volunteer first responders support the communities where they live when a crisis arises and often put their own lives on the line.
According to cdc.gov, 97 firefighters and 155 police officers died each year in the line of duty from 1990 to 2001 with another 400 killed on Sept. 11, 2001.
“Both police and career (paid) firefighters are in the top 15 occupations for risk of fatal occupational injury, and the traumatic fatality rates are approximately three to four times higher than the average for all occupations,” according to the CDC. “The fatality rate for EMS responders is about two-and-one-half times the rate for all occupations.”
The people involved in these occupations are your neighbors and friends. And their family members know the sacrifices they make, the stress they deal with and the long hours they sometimes work.
National First Responders Day offers a chance to honor these heroic men and women.
For more information, visit www.greenecosafe-secure.org.