It’s "National Emergency Services Week," and U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Monrovia) is promoting the occasion on social media.
Strong has a special understanding of the importance of emergency services – he was one himself. You could say he is one himself. He has never stopped volunteering in times of need despite being elected county commissioner and then congressman.
The fruit did not fall far from the tree. Strong’s father had been one of the founding members of the Monrovia Fire-Rescue in their home area. Dale started as a volunteer at age 13.
He obtained his EMT license from the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He served as a first responder and 911 dispatcher for Huntsville Med-Flight.
When Strong was elected to the Madison County Commission in 1996, he continued volunteering as a first responder.
During the 2011 tornado outbreak, Strong was awarded the Public Safety Officers Medal of Valor for his response on Huntsville’s Airport Road.
In 2019, Strong was chairman of the Madison County Commission. He was driving up Interstate 65 on a Saturday.
He gave the following account of the incident:
Traveling I-65 North today returning from a funeral in Birmingham....I saw a vehicle off the side of the road on I-65 South that just did not look right. No one had stopped and it appeared from a distance no one was in the vehicle. Something just told me to exit, go back, and check things out. I quickly realized the vehicle had flipped and landed back on its wheels in a ditch. The wreck had just occurred and gas was pouring out of the vehicle. Another step or two and I could see an unconscious man in the front seat.
Called 911 to get help rolling while getting my trauma bag. As I opened the drivers door... I reached to check for a pulse. The guy had no pulse and was not breathing. By this time (one) man stopped to help me get him out of the vehicle. Started CPR ...within minutes I saw Cullman Emergency Medical Services pulling up. Defibrillated the patient, applied Lucas, started IV, pushed cardiac drugs and boom his heart starts beating, regains his color and we have a pulse. He went back into cardiac arrest and was converted again regaining pulse and a good heart rate.
Thankful to the guy that stopped to help me get this 6’3” guy out so we could attempt to save his life... and Cullman EMS for responding so quickly.
As I pulled into my driveway at home still trying to digest what all had occurred this afternoon, I got word that he is still alive.
I cannot believe it! I saw God at work today in so many ways at mile marker 306 on Interstate 65.
Joshua 1:9
That is a story of a lifelong first responder, a modern-day Good Samaritan.
Strong wrote on Facebook, "This week is National Emergency Services Week, and I want to say thank you to all our EMS first responders for their life-saving work. With decades in the field, I can tell you—being a first responder isn’t just a job, it’s a calling. This National EMS Week, I’m proud to stand with the dedicated medics, EMTs, and dispatchers who show up every single day, no matter the hour, no matter the odds. I am grateful for the men and women who deliver compassionate care and life-saving measures day in and day out."
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler’s beat is the colorful and positive about Alabama -- her people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].
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