The dozen full-time paramedics in the Morton Fire Department want to do more in the community than help people during a medical emergency.
So in 2014, a year after forming a union, they established the Morton Paramedic Local 4952 Charitable Foundation. The paramedics’ next event is judging a chili cook-off Oct. 26 at Morton Terrace HealthCare and Rehabilitation Centre.
Joe Yerly, a Morton paramedic since 2000 after serving for four years as a Morton volunteer firefighter, said the money raised by paramedics isn’t used for collective bargaining or other union-related business.