Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Sept. 25, 2025 – The Jonesboro Fire Department (JFD) is making sure its firefighters are also able to provide immediate care during an emergency through a training program.
On Sept. 23, the department announced in a Facebook post that it is in the second week of the second class of its in-house EMT program, allowing firefighters to get EMT licensing accreditation. The program had its first class in January.
Fire chief Marty Hamrick said before the program began, students would have to go to the Arkansas Fire Training Academy in Camden or attend classes at Arkansas State University. Now, with students learning at the station, they can become qualified quickly while still doing their job.
“They spend their eight to five Monday through Friday out there learning, depending on how the schedule falls like right now. They have completed rookie school and have their firefighter certification, but now they are on shift, and they’re going through their EMT portions, so we pull them off the truck if they’re scheduled to be on duty, to go to class, and then on their days off, they’ll come in and go to class like normal,” Hamrick said.
Teaching in the program is handled through Black River Technical College, according to instructor Chris Nugent. He said that they originally wanted to go with the Arkansas Fire Training Academy and through the state, but they couldn’t make it happen, leading him to turn to Black River Technical College’s EMS director, Brandon Johnson. Johnson, along with Ryan Brown, who teaches at the college, also help with instruction for the program.
In 2008, JFD had a first responder program to help with basic medical needs. Hamrick explained that they would run with an ambulance company, carrying necessary equipment to handle trauma-type situations. He said that while it did help, they were limited on what they could do.
“The knowledge they [the firefighters] had at the first responder level wasn’t really great,” he said. “So we made the decision to start requiring EMT just to have a better knowledge base, and to provide a better quality of service to the citizens.”
As of September 2025, the department has over 60 EMTs fully certified, making up half of the department. Hamrick said having more EMTs on board helps provide a better level of service for residents.
“For any type of medical emergency, you’re going to have a fire truck show up. There will be at least one EMT on that rig that can start that lifesaving care just as soon as they get there. Once the ambulance gets there, all that has to be done then is load it on the ambulance and go to the hospital,” Hamrick said.
Training has already led to success. Not only did the first class achieve a 100% pass rate on both the written and physical exams, according to JFD’s Facebook post, but Hamrick said they had one response that showed what the program could do.
Hamrick explained one of their firefighters was out doing a routine business inspection at a dialysis center, but it was discovered that one of the patients there was unresponsive. Instead of a call being made, he said the firefighter jumped into action.
“They initiated CPR really quick, got the AED and stuff like that applied, and in a matter of minutes, they had the patient back up and talking,” Hamrick said. “If it would have been a case that they didn’t happen to be there, and that distance of travel just to get there, that made the difference in that patient’s life.”
With the second class underway, Hamrick said that they are possibly looking into a smaller unit, staffing it with a couple of EMTs, and focusing in specific areas that see a lot of EMS calls. He said this program demonstrates the department’s commitment to the community, providing the best service they can to residents.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re in the city limits of Jonesboro, you’re going to receive the absolute best care from this department that we can possibly provide,” Hamrick said. “Whether it be car wrecks, EMS calls, house fires, whatever it is, we’re going to show up, be professional, be quick, and get your problem fixed.”
