Santa Monica Fire Department Captain Jerry Parker will be honored by the Los Angeles Emergency Medical Services Agency (LEMSA) for his 39 years of service as a paramedic next week.
The ceremony will take place on May 15 in Santa Fe Spring, CA and will also honor other professionals who have been active participants in pre-hospital care for thirty years or more in Los Angeles County.
Captain Parker started his career with the Santa Monica Fire Department on May 1, 1972, and was one of six SMFD Firefighters to attend Paramedic Training in 1974.
Upon completion, they were assigned to the first and only paramedic unit in the City of Santa Monica, Engine 4.
The Santa Monica Fire Department was the first fire department in the country to provide paramedic response via a fire engine, which became a model for many other departments around the country.
Today, Captain Parker is responsible the purchasing and maintenance of all fire apparatus and vehicles for the Santa Monica Fire Department.
After 40 years of dedicated service to the department, he still maintains his paramedic certification by attending all training required to hold his license.
