In the Spotlight Paramedic: 'Everything I learned in my first class has changed'

Apr. 27—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Like many others in Johnstown, Harvey Kline left his Decker Avenue home early July 20, 1977, headed to his job at Bethlehem Steel.

He got as far as Fairfield Avenue at Broad Street before being turned back by floodwaters. He tried again at Delaware Avenue and was blocked again, so he went into the city fire station on Fairfield Avenue and called in.

"They said, 'Don't even try,' " Kline, now 75, said at the West End Ambulance Service headquarters, 175 Garfield St.

In those days, the ambulance service was a volunteer organization, which Kline had joined the previous year. He put that training into practice as he and another volunteer brought an ambulance to the fire station to help with rescues.

"I wasn't home for three days," Kline said.

The first rescue came soon after they were set up. Two women were trapped on the roof of their car, which was surrounded by rising floodwaters. Kline and the other paramedic carried the women on their shoulders to the safety of the fire station.

But the station was not safe for very long. As the waters came up, personnel had to abandon the station and head to higher ground. Kline and his colleague went back to their West End station and the firefighters moved to a station farther up Fairfield Avenue that was still active in 1977.

"The way the water came up so fast, that was scary," Kline said. "I thought we were goners. You are walking in the water and you don't know what's underneath."

While the emergency responders survived, some of their equipment did not.

"We lost three ambulances," Kline said.

Kline had only been in the ambulance service for about a year when he was thrust into the flood emergency, having joined under the encouragement of a Bethlehem Steel co-worker.

He was hired at the steel plant as a patrolman in 1974 and was also trained in fire response and ambulance service to help back up those Bethlehem operations.

As a member of the ambulance service, Kline was part of the region's first paramedic class, which was taught in the spring of 1976 by the late Dr. John S. Karduck. At the time, most ambulance personnel had little training and there were no national standards.

"His license was on the line," Kline said.

Four Johnstown ambulance services each sent five employees to the training, and 11 graduated.

"All five of West End's paramedics passed," Kline said.

It was also a time when emergency medical response was in the national spotlight. Studies had shown hundreds of lives could be saved with quicker medical treatment. The television show "Emergency!" debuted in 1972 and brought paramedic care to the nation's living room. In a 2022 article about the show's 50th anniversary, the American College of Emergency Physicians called it "a TV series that transformed prehospital care."

Kline also saw the show's value.

"I watched every one like they were training films," he said.

The training prepared Kline for the city's next major change: He lost his job at Bethlehem Steel in 1982.

"I knew it was coming, so I started working part-time at Lee Hospital," he said.

The program and a similar one at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center sent paramedics to assist with ambulance services. The Lee program served five counties.

He continued as a volunteer with West End until crews were paid "a small stipend" for each call. He also did some carpentry work on the side with another ambulance worker.

His wife, Donna, passed away at Christmastime in 2012, and Kline retired from Conemaugh Memorial, where he transferred with the health system's acquisition of UPMC Lee Regional in 2005.

Today, paramedics are required to complete 36 hours of training every three years, along with several specialty classes.

"Everything I learned in my first class has changed," he said.

As the paramedic program proved its value, nationally, regulations have changed to allow the professionals to perform more procedures and treatments without constantly checking in by radio with a doctor.

Kline remains an asset to the West End Ambulance Service, Commander Carlos Gunby said.

"As a person, he truly cares and his actions speak through his service," Gunby said. "Not only is Harvey one of the senior members here, he's also one of those whose shoulders you lean on with a problem or a situation."

Not that he's always in lockstep with the company line.

"Just be careful what question you ask Harvey," Gunby said, chuckling. "Without holding back, he's going to say what he's going to say."

Kline has experienced a lot during his 48 years in emergency response, but he calls landing a 51-pound striped bass in Raystown Lake "the biggest thrill" of his life.

He still lives in the Decker Avenue home his grandfather built in the 1920s, along with his daughter Carrie Patrick and grandson Michael Kerr. His son, Bryan Kline, lives in Richland Township.