BENNINGTON, V.T. (NEWS10) -May 21 to 27 is National EMS Week. This is the 49th year the week has been honored by Emergency Medical Services.

The Bennington Rescue Squad has been serving their community in Vermont for 60 years. Executive Director, Bill Camarda, says with both the anniversary of his squad and EMS week, this was the perfect time to bring back celebrations like these. “We haven’t been able to have an event like this in almost four years now. It’s great to be able to get everybody together and have a celebration of our crew members like this,” said Camarda.

Camarda says as rewarding as working for a rescue squad can be, the job itself can be a lot to handle when it comes to mental health. That’s why he puts together events like these to thank everyone for their hard work. “All EMS providers deal with some of the worst moments in individuals’ lives. Having a moment to celebrate their work, their accomplishments, and the things they do day-in and day-out is an awesome reason to get together,” explained Camarda.

Bennington’s rescue squad was given a variety of awards, from outstanding service to rookie of the year. Two members, Captain and Paramedic, Chad Davis, and EMT and Educator, Richard Noel, received an award for saving someone’s life who would have passed away without their care. To Noel, it was just another day of doing his job. “We’re all pretty humble folks. We do what really needs to be done. We have no problem helping out, day or night,” described Noel.

Both Davis and Noel say the job can put them in harm’s way with something new each day. Even still, nothing can beat the feelings these two have for their line of work. “It’s quite rewarding for us to be able to do this, but all in all, it’s potentially dangerous,” stated Noel. “I primarily do what I do know because I care about these people,” stated Davis.