Cleveland County EMS

Paramedics responded to about 115 calls throughout the county today between midnight and 7:30 p.m., according to Paramedic David Salter.

Left: Salter

The most serious call to that point was of a man hit by a moped. His condition was unknown.

Salter and David Clary, watching the closing moments of the Dallas / Tampa Bay game, were the only two paramedics at the new EMS base in Kings Mountain when I stopped by this evening.

Clary, a part-time employee who worked today so a full-time paramedic could have the holiday off, said it's hard to say whether holidays change the volume of calls that come in. He's worked many holidays in his 16 years as a county paramedic and there have been both good Christmases and bad. (Bad in this case meaning fatalities)

Salter, who has seven years experience as an EMT for Cleveland and Gaston counties, agreed and said their's is a job where it's impossible to predict what each day will bring.

"Every day's going to be something new," he said. "You have to be prepared for everything."

As paramedics, they work 24-hour shifts. And while they are allowed to see their families at work until 11 p.m., it's only for short periods of time.

To celebrate Thanksgiving, Salter, Clary, and several other county paramedics met at the main station on Grover Street in Shelby earlier today for a potluck meal.

Left to right: Salter, Clary

Salter said paramedics wanting the holiday off can usually schedule for it and a part-timer, such as Clary, will fill in.

But Salter himself has only been with Cleveland County a year and said it didn't seem right for him to ask for the day off so soon.