Ocean City Department of Emergency Services

History of Fire/EMS Division

From Humble Beginnings to State of the Art

Written by: Lt. John Holloway, BS, NREMT-P, Supervisor-"D" Shift

Today, it is hard to imagine what life was like at Ocean City in the 1930s and 40s. We were an isolated fishing village striving to become a noted resort town. Medical attention was provided by several family doctors. Our hospital was located in Salisbury, Maryland, 30 odd miles and an hour and a half drive away. It was not until 1942, and only by a gracious gift of a vacationer whose wife died for want of an ambulance ride to the hospital, that Ocean City received its first ambulance.

Ocean City's first ambulance driver was John Elmer Quillen, from 1942-1949. Then from 1949 to the mid 60s, Steve Quillin was the town's lone driver: "...the only help I had was helping to load up. Sometimes members of the immediate family rode along or I called on the police hold somebody who was giving me trouble."

During 1960, the Ocean City Rescue Squad was formed from within the Volunteer Fire Company. Credit is due to Lemuel Truitt, Wardie Jarvis especially, and to David Lankford, Leonard C. Powell, Charles H. White, Albert Berger, Luther Thornton, and James T. Cropper. Only two ambulances were available to these volunteers and service was provided only through a call to a doctor, the police, or the Fire Company. During their first year the squad responded to fifteen calls. Their first patient was local hotelier G. Hale Harrison, owner of Harrison Hall who was suffering from heart distress, and to whom they administered oxygen.

By 1966, Mayor Hugh Cropper and the City Council were aware of the growing number of vacationers and the ever-increasing demand for emergency medical assistance. They initiated a paid rescue squad drawn from the members of the Volunteer Fire Company. Ocean City's first paid ambulance personnel were Steve Cropper, Victor Bunting, Bruce Gibbs, Kover Ellingsworth, Jr., Larry Lewis, and Harold Vickers. This move, at least, put an attendant in the ambulance with the patient.

By 1968, the squad answered 517 calls and in '69 the number rose to 771. The cases most often involved drug-related problems, heart attack, automobile accidents, and drowning.

It is believed that 1973 was the turning point for the Rescue Squad when Frank Muller was certified as the first advanced life support provider in Ocean City and on the Eastern Shore. In 1980 paramedic certification became available and it expanded the scope of care available to sick and injured persons. During 2000 the paramedics were reorganized to fall under the Department of Emergency Services.

As we observe our Fortieth Anniversary, the Ocean City Emergency Medical Services responded to 5,000 calls for assistance in the year 2000. The town employs fifty-three highly qualified and trained paramedics and cardiac rescue technicians. Nine paramedic units cover approximately 18 miles of territory. We are a unique environment, serving a town whose population shifts from 5,000 to 25,000 during the winter to 350,000 during the vacation season. It has been a privilege to follow and to be involved in the history of OCEMS and to look forward to providing outstanding service during the coming year.