Leelanau Essentials—the workers who keep us safe during the pandemic. Meet Glen Lake firefighter Nathaniel Feldpausch
From staff reports
Nathaniel Feldpausch—a firefighter and emergency medical technician (EMT) with the Glen Lake Fire Department since 2018—is among 19 first responders across Leelanau County who could get sent out with extra protective gear on COVID-19 medical calls.
Glen Lake Fire and six other Leelanau County fire departments have teamed up to dedicate two ambulances to respond to all COVID-19 calls throughout the County. One of those ambulances—the backup unit for the Cedar Area Fire & Rescue Department—is now stationed at the Glen Lake Fire Department’s Glen Arbor station. Glen Lake Fire Chief Bryan Ferguson said that when a call comes in, Central Dispatch will ask about any symptoms. If a patient has signs of the coronavirus, Dispatch will send one of the ambulances which has been specially outfitted for the job.
What does this work mean to you?
“My job is important to me because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Feldpausch. “I get to go home with a sense of accomplishment that I’m doing something I love that also helps people.”
What does the work mean to the community?
“My job is important to the community particularly during this time because the potential for severe health problems is heightened. We are here to provide those emergency services when they are needed.”
How has your life changed during the pandemic?
“My life has changed during this pandemic because we now wear a mask and eye protection on every call, as well as giving a patient a mask to wear as well. I’m also in the Michigan National Guard and was supposed to be gone most of May for Military Occupational Specialty Reclassification School, but it was canceled due to the pandemic.”
About our Leelanau Essentials series
They are doctors, nurses and healthcare workers. They stock the shelves, slice the deli meat, and run the registers at grocery stores, they deliver your meals curbside, delicately pinching the paper bag between gloved fingers. They are the EMS first responders, the firemen and the cops. They are the distilleries that turn spirit byproduct into hand sanitizer. They drive semi trucks and delivery trucks and bring packages and food. They are postal workers. They run the food banks and the church pantries. They keep the school cafeterias open to make sure the needy families get breakfasts and lunch. They pick up our recycling and our garbage. They watch our children, and they care for our elderly. They are the farmworkers—both with and without documents—who harvest our crops.
Even as our community and our society shut down and we stay home to socially distance ourselves, these essential workers of Leelanau County show up every day and walk to the front lines to fight for us in this world war against a murderous pandemic. Let us honor our Leelanau Essentials.
Dear readers—who would you like to nominate for our Leelanau Essentials profile series? Do they have a compelling story they’re willing to share? Have they proven themselves essential to the community in recent weeks? Can they send us a photo of themselves and answer the following questions: What does my job mean to me? What does it mean to the community? How has my life changed during the coronavirus? Send submissions to editorial@GlenArborSun.com.
