Michael Anderson said he was headed toward a nursing career, following the path of his sisters.

An uncle who was a firefighter showed another opportunity to Anderson in firefighting and emergency medical services.

“I did all the nursing school and figured out I didn’t like being trapped in a building all day,” said Anderson, a paramedic and EMS supervisor for Winchester Fire-EMS. “This has been more rewarding than I thought nursing could be.”

Anderson, a Clark County native, started as a volunteer firefighter and working with ambulance services in Florida, but returned to Kentucky several years ago.

“I came up here to help take care of my grandmother,” he said. “I have a lot of family here. I continued my education here.”

Anderson said he spent about 10 years in EMS, the last three with Winchester Fire-EMS.

“I can’t brag on this place enough,” Anderson said. “The citizens of Winchester are very lucky to have what they have.”

Anderson still volunteers with the Clay City Fire Department and recently completed his classes to become an EMS instructor, something he shares with the fire departments.

As an EMS supervisor, he helps with orientation of new EMS employees. He meets regularly with the department’s medical director to make sure procedures and protocols are up to date and compliant. He is the department’s liason with Clark Regional Medical Center. He makes sure the department’s ambulances are inspected annually by the state and compliant. He leads training classes for Winchester’s firefighters and EMS personnel, along with those from other departments at times.

There are the occasional ambulance runs as well.

“It can go from two runs a day to 25 runs a day,” he said. “We have a lot of days where every truck we have is out on a run. It’s crazy how busy this place is.”

One of the benefits of being part of a fire department is the additional manpower and resources available on calls when an engine responds with the ambulance, he said.

The sense of fulfillment remains the same.

“You step into somebody’s life at the worst moment and you can change that,” he said. “It’s very rewarding.”