Ohio EMT Couple Volunteers For More Than 30 Years

She wears rubber-soled shoes to keep her steady in the ambulance. He has grass-stained jeans and work boots. They both keep radios on their hips.

She keeps a siren and light on the dashboard of her white Buick Regal, just in case. He jokes that people call his house instead of 911.

Glennie and Elmer Ullom have been volunteer emergency medical technicians for the Hartford Fire Department for more than 30 years.

Glennie, 72, got her start by helping her husband, Elmer, study for his EMT training. Elmer, 75, began his career as a firefighter in 1962.

"I figured if I had to help with the bookwork, I could do it, too," she said.

Glennie, who speaks softly while her husband has a tendency to talk with his hands, said the EMS runs have made them better understand each other.

"If I'm at home waiting for him with supper and it's cold, I understand," she said. "We've both come home to a cold supper. We go to plan B or plan C."

The Ulloms grew up next door to each other and have been married 51 years.

"You know that Bible verse, 'Love thy neighbor'?" Elmer asked. "I got really into it."

The couple has had some emotional experiences on runs, including the drowning death of a 2-year-old, Glennie said.

"That sticks in my mind," she said. "Those are always tough. In a community as small as this, you know everybody and are involved with the families."

"When you go out on runs and they're really tragic, you do what you got to do and try to get people calm," Elmer said. "Some of them, you get by; some of them stick with you."

They have also seen how the community has changed through the years. Glennie recalled recently transporting a 27-year-old man to the hospital after he overdosed from chewing on a pain patch.

"We fought very hard to keep him alive," she said. "It's very sad to see a young life with so much ahead, to see what they're doing to themselves."

The man spent a few days in the hospital and survived the overdose.

Glennie said she sees more drug abuse now than ever before.

"It's something you never used to think about in a small community," she said.

Glennie and Elmer have been joined in the ambulance by their son, Mike, a lieutenant in the Westerville Fire Department who also volunteers at Hartford.

"Growing up, that's what was considered normal for us," Mike Ullom said of fighting fires and running ambulances.

Mike said he's not surprised that his parents continue to volunteer but is impressed at how often they head out.

"I'm always amazed they take as many runs as they do," he said. "I don't even consider their age. It's probably what keeps them young."

Glennie said the number of daily runs she goes on varies. "It could be three or it could be none."

Hartford Fire Chief Ed Poe said it's rare to see a squad out without her.

"They've helped dramatically," he said of the Ulloms. "If it wasn't for them, we probably wouldn't get out most times, especially at night."

Both Ulloms are quick to say they haven't stuck with ambulance runs for the recognition.

"We don't do it for any attention; we do it for the community," Elmer Ullom said.

The Ulloms stock the ambulance with teddy bears and other stuffed toys to comfort any scared children they meet. Elmer said that in a worried child's eye, they become "the greatest people in the world."

"You have no idea how satisfying it is," he said. "This is what rewards you, what you can do for people."

And Glennie isn't planning to quit anytime soon.

"Not as long as I can wiggle," she said.

mharding@dispatch.com

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