EMS Chief Honored for Outstanding Service

EMS Division Chief Lou Snelling thanked his fire chief and colleagues when city officials honored him Thursday.

His fellow firefighters filled City Hall.

"They’re the reason it happens," he said.

Snelling received the fire department’s prestigious meritorious service ribbon award for 15 years of outstanding service, exemplary and highly unusual accomplishments for the overall betterment of the department.

He is credited with building the city's emergency medical services division from scratch.

Snelling was hired as coordinator when the county agreed to allow Dunedin to include EMS as a division of its fire services in 1996. He wrote a lock-tight training program that was so well liked that the county adopted it. He began the division with 12 firefighter-paramedics, bought EMS equipment and redesigned the fire engines to carry the added equipment.

“He’s the behind-the-scenes player in just about everything we do,” Fire Chief Bud Meyer said.

The Florida State Bureau of Emergency Medical Services found nothing wrong at his first inspection, and over the years, fire officials say he has continued to improve its emergency medical services division.

On April 29, the state sent Snelling a congratulatory letter for perfect inspection results.

It states:

“Your vehicles and service records were outstanding. Thank you for being a role model of excellence as an EMS provider in the State of Florida.”

“The award is unexpected,” Snelling said in front of commissioners.