Williston
ECRWSS PRSRT STD US Postage
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Permit #15 Williston,VT 05495 POSTAL CUSTOMER
MARCH 2, 2023
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
Williston Fire Department gains tool to save lives Rotary funds enable purchase of Cyanokit BY SUSAN COTE Observer staff
Lt. Tony Simanskas displays the Cyanokit that is now carried on the Williston Fire Department’s ambulance. OBSERVER PHOTO BY SUSAN COTE
The paramedics of the Williston Fire Department have acquired a new tool to help save lives. Thanks to the initiative of Captain Prescott Nadeau and Lieutenant Tony Simanskas the department is pioneering the availability of a medication to treat victims of smoke inhalation for field application in Vermont. Cyanokit is the trademarked name of the kit which contains hydroxocobalamin, an antidote used in the treatment of cyanide poisoning caused by smoke inhalation during a structural fire. Delivered intravenously to victims, the medication binds with cyanide in the blood to form a substance that the body can safely excrete through urine. To their knowledge, they are only the second fire department in the state to have acquired and been trained in its use.
It all began with a podcast that the two regularly listen to called GRABS, which features stories of victim rescues from around the country. A “grab” in firefighter lingo is the rescue of a person from a building fire.
“Just having the kit on a rig provides safety to the firefighters as well as to the civilian population.” Captain Prescott Nadeau
They repeatedly heard stories of people being pulled from structural fires and being administered a Cyanokit to save their lives. This got them interested in learning more about the tool and how they might be able to adopt it for their department. They learned the kits were expensive, costing as much as a couple of thousand dollars. However, they could get one for
about $800 if purchased through the UVM Medical Center. Because it was not budgeted, they sought a way to help fund the purchase of an initial kit. In August of last year Nadeau and Simanskas, at the invitation of Rotary member Sherry Pidgeon, spoke to the Williston-Richmond Rotary Club about the potential of adding a Cyanokit to the department’s resources. For the most part, Nadeau explained to the group, “It’s not fire that kills people, it’s smoke.” While the UVM Medical Center has three of these kits available, they do not have the ability to respond to a fire scene. The timeliness of receiving the medication matters. If transport time of a fire victim to the ER is 15-20 or even 25 minutes, administering this drug in the field could be the difference between life or death. Hearing the potential of the Cyanokit, Rotary members deliberated and decided to provide the necessary funding through a combination of individual donasee CYANOKIT page 3
Wood4Good warms homes and hearts BY RICK COTE Observer staff
In 2019, Eric Axelrod of Jericho and his sons found themselves with more firewood than they needed for the winter ahead, so they decided to deliver a truckload to a family in need. What began as a random act of kindness has since grown into Wood4Good, a 501(c) (3) non-profit that distributed 190 cords of wood to 140 families for the winter of 2022/23. “We were overjoyed! What an incredible safety net!” said Kate Reininger-Severin of Jericho, of when Axelrod reached out to them offering firewood. Kate’s husband, Jerome Mendicino, had been unexpectedly laid off from
a job he’d held for 42 years. They were getting by on unemployment and cutting what wood they could from around their home. A friend told Axelrod about their situation, which prompted the delivery. “We were stunned,” said Mendicino, when Axelrod and his sons “threw a cord of wood onto our driveway. It saved our heating for that winter!” Reininger-Severin and Mendicino are now Wood4Good volunteers. She operates a hydraulic splitter while he lifts the heavy logs onto the machine. And they’re not alone. Last year, over 200 volunteers contributed to the effort. According to Axelrod, on any given Sunday, you’ll find no fewer
than six and often more than ten individuals sawing and splitting firewood on the two-acre plot on Davis Farm in Jericho that owner Gary Davis has made available as a base for the organization. Some volunteers come once, maybe as part of a company outing, others come more frequently, including a handful of “super-regulars.” Chris Stewart of Williston is among them. “When Erik spoke to the Williston-Richmond Rotary Club, I was inspired, so I went out to cut wood that first weekend.” Soon thereafter, Axelrod asked Stewart if he could drive the dump truck to make deliveries. Last season, Stewart spent “8 or 9 days” delivering as many as six loads see WOOD page 2
Eric Axelrod of Jericho, along with his sons, is the founder of Wood4Good, a nonprofit that deliers free firewood to those in need. OBSERVER CONTRIBUTED PHOTO