Tom Winter Brought Passion for EMS, Creative Spark to the Firehouse

 

Tom Winter remembers vividly the day he went to church and a man sitting just a few pews over went into cardiac arrest. His mom, an ER nurse, performed CPR. 

 

"It was like Supermom, flying over the pews, and she saved the guy!" Winter recalls. "I just remember that being such an impact on me. He gave her flowers every year on that date for the rest of his life."

 

The event left a lasting impression on the 10-year-old, who would grow up to become a Paramedic and Apparatus Engineer, saving lives and helping people in his own right. 

 

Winter retired from the Madison Fire Department this week after 28 years of service. 

 

Winter was attending school for respiratory therapy and volunteering with Fitchburg Fire when he received the call to join the Madison Fire Department in 1997. With additional experience at Fitch-Rona EMS also under his belt, Winter can say he's proudly devoted more than 30 years to the EMS and fire services.

 

"I’ve always enjoyed EMS. I think that's what this job is all about. Occasionally you get lucky and you get to play with fire once in a while," he said with a smile.

 

During his tenure in Madison, Winter served at stations throughout the city but spent most of his time at Station 10 on the north side. He served a total of fourteen years on the ambulance.

 

Along the way, he found himself on the forefront of EMS innovations as the department's services evolved. He and his ambulance partners were among the first people at Madison Fire to perform a rapid sequence intubation on a patient and the first to perform an emergency airway procedure known as a cricothyrotomy.

 

"I absolutely loved my time on the ambulance— some of the most challenging times but the most rewarding times," said Winter.

 

While on Medic 10 in 2011, Winter found himself on the receiving end of MFD's quality care. He was part of a structure fire response to a furniture store at Northgate Shopping Center. The fire already had a head start on firefighters, with 40-foot flames coming from the shopping center upon arrival, forcing a defensive fire attack from the outside.

 

After putting out the fire along the roofline, Winter and his crew positioned in front of the store to prevent fire from spreading to the rest of the building. That's when some large timber trusses collapsed and struck him.

 

"It literally cracked my helmet when that roof hit me," Winter remembers. "I thought I had embers inside my mask, but really it was that I was seeing stars."

 

He was taken to the hospital and released shortly thereafter.

 

Winter eventually stepped down from the ambulance to study to become a driver, and he achieved a promotion to Apparatus Engineer in July 2016. Since then, he's enjoyed the thrill of getting his crews to EMS and fire calls— especially when traffic is busy— aboard Engine 5, Ladder 6, and Engine 12.

 

Though he's retiring, tokens of Winter's creativity will remain long after he's gone. All who gather around the kitchen table at Station 10 will continue to enjoy Winter's handiwork. He designed and built the table with Firefighter/EMT Troy "Moose" Donkle. He also designed the logos for Fire Station 10 and Fire Station 12, with help from Lieutenant Matt Powers. 

 

At Fire Station 12, nicknamed "The Wild West," an illuminated life-sized rendering of the station logo adorns the watch room at the far west-side firehouse.

 

 

"I like putzing," said Winter, who looks forward to more woodworking and more "putzing" in retirement.

 

As he reflects on 28 years of service with MFD, he marvels that it went by in the blink of an eye. And he's grateful to have found this career.

 

"I barely got through high school. I was a little dyslexic and ADHD," he said. "So to be able to settle down and have a 30-year career somewhere is pretty good. I feel blessed to have this opportunity."