Mike Roberts and I were new volunteers with the Micanopy Fire Department, and met on that scene Saturday night. I had driven in to Gainesville to get a pizza when the call came in, drove south on 441 and saw nothing by the Gun Shop, then came over the little rise before you drop down to Georges Pond and saw a sea awash with emergency lights. The cars seemed to have hit headlight to headlight, and the destruction was almost too much. I was a 22 year old who had finished my EMT class in 1978 and was working for the Micanopy fire as one of the 40 hour employess, but also volunteered on the weekends. I had started paramedic school at Santa Fe just three weeks earlier. I recall that the County EMS medical director, Dr. Richard Melker, responded to the scene; he was an emergency physician and pediatrician and directed the units on the scene. The article in todays paper should inspire every one who faces adversity. I have had the pleasure to work on the Micanopy School with Jim Walkup, who was in that accident whom I cared for. -Phil Irwin, Fire Chief 1981-2001, Micanopy FD
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 00:12:56 +0000
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