||| FROM JESSICA GIASULLO and JAMES SCHEIB |||
Patrick Shepler for Fire Commissioner
Patrick Shepler is running for commissioner of the Board of Fire Commissioners, Orcas Island Fire and Rescue (OIFR).
My husband James Scheib and I have been close friends with Patrick for many years. As a volunteer with OIFR, James was also his colleague.
Patrick retired last November as a Battalion Chief, Firefighter, Paramedic and EMS trainer after fifteen years of service on Orcas Island.
When hired in 2005, Patrick brought with him over two decades of previous service as a Firefighter and Paramedic for the city of Clearwater, Florida. Patrick taught EMS and Paramedic classes for St. Petersburg College on his days off for over a decade. After retiring from the city of Clearwater, Patrick became the training director at the St. Petersburg College for Continuing Education for the entire Pinellas County Florida EMS System.
From the state of training for all members, to 911 call response times, to maintenance of all fire and rescue apparatus, to the financial condition of the department, and most important, to crew morale, Patrick Shepler knows, inside and out, what OIFR needs to function at its best.
Patrick Shepler knows us, the people OIFR serves, 24/7, and we know him. We are not just abstract “numbers of calls” to Patrick. In fact, in his capacity as a paramedic, he has saved James’ life, twice!
Not one of the current five commissioners have such detailed intimate experience of Orcas Island Fire and Rescue, and the people it serves. We need to elect Patrick Shepler to the Board of Fire Commissioners.
