By Tiffany Williams –
WORCESTER, Mass. — Worcester’s emergency medical services operation is getting new leadership while emergency communications personnel from across Massachusetts are being recognized for stepping in during one of the city’s most difficult weeks.
Worcester EMS announced the promotion of Paramedic Kyle Stark and Paramedic Dan Bruce to the rank of lieutenant within the Worcester EMS Operations Division.
Both Stark and Bruce currently serve as Field Training Officers and are members of the Tactical EMS team and Honor Guard.
Both have already distinguished themselves within the department.
Their promotions come as Worcester’s broader public safety community continues to reflect on the death of Worcester Police Officer Kurt Solomon, a 31-year veteran of the department.
On August 25 and 26, members of the Massachusetts Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce deployed to the Worcester Emergency Communications Center to provide staffing support during the wake and funeral services honoring Solomon.
The deployment allowed Worcester telecommunicators to support their department, attend services and honor their colleague while outside personnel helped keep emergency communications operating.
Fourteen MA TERT members representing seven agencies answered the call over the two-day deployment.
A Seguin, G Grenier, R Ocasio, R Higgins, L Preston, J Costa, J DeForest, B Parker, L Rosario, R Ferrin, M Hartmann and R Eak were among those identified as part of the response.
The assignment was simple but critical: make sure 9-1-1 calls continued to be answered and public safety communications remained uninterrupted while Worcester personnel mourned one of their own.
“This is exactly why TERT exists.”
The organization said the mission of the taskforce is to step in when a public safety communications center is impacted by tragedy and provide direct support to fellow dispatchers.
“When a public safety communications center is impacted by tragedy, Massachusetts telecommunicators step forward to support their fellow dispatchers and help ensure that 9-1-1 remains answered and public safety communications continue without interruption.”
The organization also thanked the members who deployed, the agencies that allowed them to serve and the Worcester team that trusted TERT personnel to support the communications center during the services.
“When one center needs support, TERT answers the call.”
For Worcester, the week brought two very different examples of public safety service: two experienced paramedics stepping into new leadership roles and telecommunicators from across Massachusetts stepping into Worcester when the city needed them most.
NewsTalk Worcester 