Moises Espejo during his paramedic internship in SacramentoDOWNIEVILLE — Over the past several weeks, Downieville Volunteer Fire Department’s part-time paramedic, Moises Espejo, has been getting adjusted to answering calls in the mountains. This past October 19th ushered in not only Espejo’s 26th birthday but also 24/7 round-the-clock paid paramedic coverage, which became a first for these rural parts. The addition of Espejo, covering a 48-hour shift Sunday-Monday, ensures our full-time paramedic, Tegan Harrington, can have a couple of days off to get the well-deserved rest and rejuvenation required to avoid fatigue and burnout.

Espejo was drawn to the field of Emergency Medical Services in his youth, watching paramedics arrive at his childhood home over 50 times to perform actual life-saving measures when his baby sister was sick. Between these visiting first responders in action and his continual viewing of the 70s television show Emergency!, a dream to one day be a paramedic was born.

While high school years involved lifeguarding at a waterpark, enrollment at American River College offered his Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training. Working five years as an EMT in the greater Sacramento area exposed Espejo to all sorts of ambulance runs. As an EMT intern for a fire department, he once ran 31 calls in a 48-hour time frame. Graduating from paramedic training on July 4th, 2021, work life has not slowed down. When not in Downieville, Espejo can be found on an ambulance in Sacramento responding to folks in a high-rise office building or a neighborhood. He has worked “concerts, bike races, ultra marathons like Tough Mudder, at Raley Field, Sutter Health Park,” caring for people suffering from “chest pain, overdoses, pregnancy complications, heat stress, strokes, assaults, and even a few gnarly vehicle accidents.” Including working an “active threat” incident, Espejo is accustomed to a variety of risks in his line of work. One day, a patient he was tending to in an ambulance woke up and drew “a loaded pistol from his waistband.”

Understanding the busy summer is behind us and winter with all its glory will soon descend, Espejo is up to the challenge of what it takes to be a paramedic in rugged terrain and appreciates the “ingenuity a provider has to have when operating” in these mountains. We wish him safe travels as he commutes weekly from his residence in Auburn, especially when the snow begins to fall, and a hearty WELCOME ABOARD!

Downieville Volunteer Fire Department Board Chair Frank Lang stresses that passing Measure A for Downieville Fire Protection District and Measure B for Sierra City Fire District is necessary to continue Advanced Life Support (ALS) services for the west side of Sierra County, including 24/7 ALS coverage. The measures, which include a Residential Parcel Fee of $60, will be up for renewal in March of 2024.