Fireman Fred Parsons: EMS Partner and LifeFlight Donor
“They’re a very important part of healthcare here in Maine. We do the best we can up here for people, but we have limitations. I hold LifeFlight of Maine in high regard as being that liaison between our care and the care that they need to survive.” – Fireman Fred
Fred Parsons is a guy you probably know if you live in Presque Isle. He goes by Fireman Fred, and he is a recognizable figure in town with a lively personality, a huge heart, and a “hippy haircut” as he describes it. He hosts a classic country radio show from 6:00am to 9:00am, Monday through Friday, on 94.7 KIXX FM, and he has served his community as a first responder for nearly 50 years.
“I guess I’ve done about everything except being a cop,” Fireman Fred said in a recent conversation. In the early 1980’s, more than a decade before LifeFlight of Maine was founded, he worked as a critical care flight paramedic. “We did the best we could at the time,” he commented as he told the story. In 1984, he began working as a full-time firefighter and paramedic in Presque Isle. He retired from the department in 2010 after 26 years. Since then, he has worked as a paramedic at Northern Light AR Gould Hospital.
“Oh, I know Fireman Fred,” Nate Bassett said with a chuckle and a smile. “He’s an incredible guy with a heart of gold.” Nate is a flight nurse with LifeFlight of Maine and the clinical base manager for LifeFlight’s Bangor teams. Nate and the LifeFlight crew meet Fireman Fred at all hours. When LifeFlight’s airplane lands in the middle of the night in Presque Isle, chances are it is Fred who shows up to transport the patient and crew between the hospital and the runway. When a LifeFlight helicopter lands on the helipad at AR Gould, Fred is often there to help load the patient into the aircraft. “I’ll bring coffee and donuts over to the guys at the airport in the middle of the night. We’re all one big team,” Fred said. “Even though we don’t work for the same organization, we work for the same people.”
In June, Fireman Fred made a generous donation to LifeFlight of Maine. “I know funding is important, and I had that money kicking around,” Fred said modestly. “I clicked online and did it that way, thinking they could be taking care of me or my family one day.”
For much of rural Maine, LifeFlight is a vital emergency medical service, connecting dispersed communities to lifesaving care. Fred, Nate, and every paramedic, nurse, and emergency physician in Maine are all working toward the same goal: providing the best possible care for their patients and getting them to the care they need. They support one another when they can, because they know what it takes to save a life in an emergency. They know, because they are the ones who show up when you call for help.
Fireman Fred’s donation to LifeFlight helps ensure that LifeFlight crews have what they need for their patients. Specifically, Fred’s generous gift will help LifeFlight purchase a new isolette, which is an essential piece of medical equipment for transporting newborns, and one LifeFlight uses frequently in communities like Presque Isle.
For Fred, what is important is making sure his family, friends, and neighbors have access to the medical care they need, whether they are in the back of his ambulance or a LifeFlight aircraft. As he has for decades, he does everything he can for the people in his community. When asked what kind of difference he hoped his gift to LifeFlight would make, he said: “I’m hoping this inspires others to do the same, whatever they can do. Tell them Fireman Fred invites everybody to do what he did and make a donation to LifeFlight.”
