First responder appreciation: Roylene Gaul

by John Dowd

For many that work as first responders, volunteering is about service to their community. Most positions aren’t paid, and many of them go unrecognized for what they do to keep everyone else safe and to be there with the skills and training when no one else can. 

There are over 20 different response departments and organizations in the valley, including police, fire, EMS, Search and Rescue and more. With well over 100 responders in the county, it is hard to choose any one name. However, this year Roylene Gaul’s was one recommended to the Bitterroot Star. 

Even though Gaul is the one being recognized, she wanted to emphasize that what responders do is never about the individual. “First responders, we’re never by ourselves. We’re always part of a team,” said Gaul. To her, everyone has skills that can help and it’s important to her that people who are interested in helping out, reach out. Gaul said, “It’s a community effort, and a community charge, to take care of each-other.”

Gaul is a paramedic with Victor Volunteer Fire Department and EMS. She retired from the U.S. Forest Service after 37 years. Much of that time she was a logistics section chief. 

Gaul spent a lot of time on major incidents and now uses the skills she learned nationally and internationally. She said she was extremely lucky to travel as extensively as she did, with her career taking her to places like Australia, Africa, the middle east and many more.

Most of what she did was large incident management and education related, not only teaching management techniques, but also the Incident Command system (ICS), a program used for managing incidents.

Gaul became an EMT in 1979 and a paramedic in 1989. Now, she teaches EMT courses and is a licensed EMS instructor in Montana. She does trainings for her department, and others in the valley.

Most of what she does is in Victor with EMS, as well as acting as the public information officer for the Victor fire department. She works part-time with Bitterroot Health as a paramedic, along with two other paramedics that also work with Victor fire. Gaul said that is how they are able to provide that service to the community, and added that without Bitterroot Health, such a proposal would be difficult. “Bitterroot Health is willing to step out into the community and help, which says a lot about them as well,” said Gaul. She described it as a “wonderful partnership,” especially with Victor being unincorporated. According to Gaul, the community would likely have difficulty funding and operating an ambulance service on their own, so that assistance is invaluable.

Her favorite thing so far as a responder was being part of building a new fire hall in Victor, without any cost to the taxpayers of Victor. She said it was truly a team effort, and crafted something that the entire community is able to use. The funds did not come from any bonds; only from donations, grants and money raised through fundraisers. The new Victor Fire Hall was completed in 2018, and for Gaul, that has been one of her proudest accomplishments. Gaul said they were able to give the community a central point to enjoy and use. Youth groups use the community spaces and meeting rooms, and some areas are rented out by Highway patrol and other local organizations. It is also used as an event center and has “given an emphasis on the community itself,” and “helps the community all around,” said Gaul. 

That is why she does what she does; to help her community. Gaul said there are many ways people can get involved in their communities as responders, including Search and Rescue, fire and many more. Part of the problem is that many responders are volunteers who have lives outside of volunteering. There can be a lot of turnover and “people come and go,” said Gaul. However, “you need to have the young, new, up-in-coming individuals with that skill level brought on board,” to keep organizations growing and capable of meeting whatever emergency or community need arises.

Gaul wants to promote volunteerism, not just with responders, but community wide. To her, this is a concept being lost in society today. Gaul said in the past, “everybody took care of each-other.” These days it is difficult for all organizations in the area to find help, including community events and non-profit organizations. 

According to Gaul, “you don’t need to be the firefighter running into the structure.” There are other ways to help and, “It’s not always the high adrenaline rush that makes a difference in our community.” She said even just checking in on elderly community members can be more than enough. 

For those not sure where to start, or feel they do not have any actionable skills, Gaul said calling any fire department is a good start. She suggests just telling them “you are willing to help out and giving your schedule of when you are available, that is a good first step.” After that, the station or department can direct people to what they need and how people can help. Even if all a person can do is run water, pick things up at the store or run radios, anything and everything helps. 

“There’s a multitude of outfits in the valley, we just need to get people involved with them,” said Gaul.