Mrs. Mayer has always in addition to her teaching, had a passion for Fire and EMS. So in 2016 when she was able to offer the first EMT class at Marietta High School, it was a big moment for her, but I doubt even she knew what lay in store for the program.
Mayer initially worked with Tasha Werry, former Marietta City Schools teacher and current Executive Director for Building Bridges to Careers, to help figure out the funding and logistics of the program. In addition Mayer has worked alongside the local fire and EMS community as well as the Mid-East Career and Technical Center, whose charter Mayer teaches her fire and EMS classes through.
It wasn’t until 2019-2020 school year that Mayer was able to expand beyond the initial EMT class. “One of my semester English classes was canceled and I saw an opportunity to add an EMR (Emergency Medical Responder) class in its place.”
From that point it really took off into what it has become today according to Mayer. “Once I added the EMR class and started taking my graduate classes necessary for my CTE licensure, I decided to try to fill my schedule with all fire and EMS classes. As of now, I still teach 1 section of English, but I finally feel like we have an academy established.”
The Tiger Fire & EMS Academy in its current form consists of five classes that include: Foundations of Firefighting & EMS, Medical Terminology, Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Firefighter 1 (FF1).
In addition to these classes the program has within the last year received a donation of a 1987 Fire Engine and a 1999 Freightliner Rescue Truck. These vehicles will allow students to practice pump operations, hose management, using ladders, spraying water, and so much more.
Part of Mayer’s goal with this program was to prepare students for the next stages of their career. Students once they go through the program have the opportunity to be a certified Firefighter 1 and/or EMT upon graduation. “This gives students advantages on college applications and in the hiring process. Even for students who do not go on to pursue careers as firefighters or EMTs, the classes help them prepare for other careers in the medical field. We even have students who take the EMR class just because they do not want to feel helpless in an emergency.”
Tiger Fire & EMS students are prepared to react instinctually in high pressure situations and there is no better example of this then what happened earlier this year.
One day after school in October, a motorcycle and another vehicle were involved in a crash at the intersection of Davis Avenue and Muskingum Drive. Four of Mrs. Mayer’s EMT students, Zoe Riley, Chrissy Kerenyi, Kevin Ritchie, and Jerry Bellville, were on scene when this crash happened and immediately sprang into action.
According to Kevin Ritchie, senior at MHS, the four students immediately grabbed their gear and ran to see how they could help. “We knew it was bad right away and just wanted to get over to assess his injuries.” Ritchie added that the next 15 minutes felt more like several hours as the students began to treat the injured motorcyclist.
The four students provided what was ultimately lifesaving intervention on scene until the Marietta Fire Department could arrive and transport the patient to the hospital. Mayer briefly stopped by the scene of the accident but quickly realized things were under control from the work of the Marietta Fire Department EMS. It was not until later that Mayer learned her students were on scene. “As the evening went on, I started learning more details of what happened, who was there, and what they did. I was incredibly proud of them for their response.”