Whenever an emergency strikes, they are the first ones on the scene to risk life and limb.

From EMTs and paramedics, to firefighters and police officers, first responders are the unsung heroes who stabilize situations in the face of adversity.

Sunday’s storm conditions had the potential to present emergency personnel with a lot of difficulties, according to John Reinbold, paramedic and chief financial officer for the Lehighton Ambulance Association.

“We, at Lehighton Ambulance, did experience some of those difficulties,” Reinbold said. “Being a community service, we operate 24 hours a day 365 days a year in order to meet the needs of those communities.”

Reinbold added, “We are unable to close the doors and wait until the “storm passes.” When events like this happen, we have to adapt to the situation.

“Each individual storm can present differently,” he said. “We still need to provide that same service.”

Reinbold pointed out that during some storms, call volume will be up and some storms call volume will be down.

“We were fortunate that on Sunday, the amount of service needed was minimal,” he said. “As the roads cleared and the storm ended, service needs increased.”

Reinbold noted they were able to maintain their normal staffing.

“Storms of this nature cause response times to be delayed, and the availability of additional resources may not be as accessible,” he said. “We have to be safe in the environment in order to be able to provide the care needed.”

Reinbold added, “These storms magnify the potential for staff to injure themselves from slipping, falling, or even an ambulance accident. We rely on local and state road crews to clear the paths for our responses.”

“Local fire companies have always been helpful to us with responses to assist in extrication, treatment and even gaining access to a residence, whether it is snow, sleet, freezing rain or just for safety reasons,” he said. “For most of us, we pride ourselves in the care that we deliver.”

Above all else, Reinbold assured, “We enjoy taking care of people and making a difference.

“The communities need us, the people need us. When someone calls for the ambulance, it means they are in a time of need.”

Palmerton Borough Fire Chief Jason Behler, said the biggest thing was everyone’s consciousness of being safe.

“A couple times we were out on different calls, people out sledding on hills that were open for traffic and driving four-wheelers and sometimes they just don’t pay attention for emergency vehicles,” Behler said. “We ask if they are out doing things like that, they have to be a little more aware.”

Behler lauded Palmerton Borough employees, whom he said “did a terrific job.

“As hard as they tried it was difficult,” he said. “Had a difficult enough time to get to the scene then have to worry about kids sleigh riding or being on the streets.”

Behler noted that the fire department worked pretty closely with the town, along with the borough’s EMA coordinator, Kyle Behler.

“Preplanned a lot of things, whether it would be response. protocol, places that had heat if they would lose power; a lot of that stuff was all done behind the scenes,” Jason Behler said. “I give Kyle Behler kudos, he was very prepared, takes it very seriously to make sure the town is as safe as possible.”

Behler described what made this storm more of a challenge than a typical storm.

“Some of the biggest difficulties were dealing with how quickly it accumulated,” he said. “As much as the people had concerns or didn’t have the ability to move their cars for the borough for street cleaning, when you get a storm of this substantial amount, you try to maximize plowing from curb to curb (maintains as wide as possible thoroughfare).

“It was very difficult to try and drive some emergency vehicles down the road. It was difficult to navigate some of the roads the way the cars were parked or may not have been moved for emergency.”

Behler said he’s certain they faced the same circumstances just as many other municipalities.

“Public Works and the Borough of Palmerton, just operating together between police, ambulance and fire, we were well prepared, and we were thankful for your support,” he said. “We’re thankful for Public Works.”

Hospital workers have also been working around the clock at Lehigh Valley Hospital, and space was made available to employees who wanted to spend the night, according to Lisa Marie Halecky Community/Media Relations, VitalChoice, Manager Board of Associates Liasion, Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton

“Jefferson Health has made extensive preparations to ensure continuity of safe, high-quality care across all hospitals during the inclement weather,” Halecky said. “We’re grateful for the work our teams do every day to ensure continuity of care, especially during challenging weather conditions.”