It was a typical Friday night for the ambulance crew at Keystone Valley Fire Department (KVFD) on March 15. What was notable, however, was that those who answered the calls for emergency assistance were all women.

"On Friday, March 15, Keystone Valley had an all-female staff on the ambulance for a full 24 hours," said Leah DiPietro, a career EMT at KVFD. "It wasn't planned. It just happened and it happened during Women's History Month. It is rare for there to be a good amount of women in a single fire house."

"Females make up 31% of EMS providers," added KVFD chief Brian Gathercole. "One-third of our staff is made up of females. They have a passion to serve our community and a desire to make this world a better place."  

Women who serve in the department include the following: Stephanie Klingler and Michelle Kreger, members of the board of directors; Karen Reynolds, membership secretary; Tina Myers and Tammy Guiney, associate members; Alyssa DeMarco, fire captain; Corin Diem, fire police officer; and Dani Tribbett and Brooke Davis, junior firefighters. In addition to DiPietro, other EMTs at the fire company are Cali Camuti, Alissa Casto, Sophie Eberly, Karly Emmert, Rebecca Fries, Ashley Hrybenko, Alexandra Kilheffer, Madison Rauscher, Madison Rohrbach and Sydney Stewart.

"We are a combination department," explained Gathercole. "The fire department is volunteers. All of our EMS is career staff. Fire and EMS go to every call."

DiPietro noted that the ambulance staff responds to a variety of calls ranging from car accidents to medical emergencies. "It's a mixture (of emergency calls)," she said. "It's mainly sick people or urgent care will call for us to transport (patients) to a hospital."

She noted that EMTs must complete classes to become certified. "We keep our CPR certification up to date and our EMT certification," said DiPietro. "We recertify every three years and have to take continuing education courses."

She added that many EMTs parlay their emergency service experience into future careers. "A lot of EMTs are in nursing school or are taking classes to get into nursing school or to become a physician assistant. Some go to medical school," she said, adding, "My family were EMTs, and it is something I always had a passion for."

More information and photos of the female members of KVFD are available at http://www.kvfd8.com under the heading "National Women's Month - Recognizing Some of KVFD's Finest." In the piece, Gathercole stated, "KVFD would like to recognize them and thank them for their contributions to KVFD on a daily basis. We are also proud to work alongside the women throughout Chester County Emergency Services, including police, fire and EMS."

KVFD is located at 329 W. First Ave., Parkesburg. For more information, including volunteer opportunities, visit the previously mentioned website or email info@kvfd.com. More information is also available at http://www.facebook.com/kvfd8.