Florida Division Chief Marks 50 Years of Service in EMS and Fire

This year, North Port, Florida, EMS Division Chief Brian Gorski marks his 50th year in the fire-rescue field. While it wasn’t his first career choice, he says he can’t imagine having done anything different. When Gorski graduated high school in 1973, he explored his interest in marine biology by volunteering at the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida.

“It was a good opportunity for me. I took care of all the animals, the tanks, feeding and cleaning,” Gorski said. It also showed him that he didn’t see himself in that career.

Gorski was watching the newly introduced “Emergency!” medical drama television series about two Los Angeles firefighters/paramedics. “It got my attention,” he said.

Gorski saw a local newspaper advertisement for volunteers at a new fire station in Siesta Key, Florida. He started EMT school, which had just taken off in Florida. Volunteers also took a 40-hour firefighting course. “I loved it,” he said.

He started as a volunteer firefighter/EMT in 1975. In 1976, a paramedic program with 500 hours of training began. Classes were conducted in a law enforcement building and at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where students learned about IVs and intubation.

“At the time, there was no state certification [for paramedics],” Gorski said. “When you graduated school, you could function as a paramedic. When I was in paramedic school, the fire chief said, ‘We should probably employ this guy because he's always hanging out here.’ I was actually working on an ambulance next to a guy who was getting paid.”

Gorski graduated, got hired, and spent most of his career at that station.

In the early 1970s, Florida introduced the delivery of medical equipment to residences, Gorski said. Telemetry units were developed to provide communications to the hospitals regarding a patient’s cardiac status over a longer time period than an electrocardiogram. The information was transmitted to the cardiac floor—not to the emergency room. “The tracings were really bad,” Gorski said. “That technology improved vastly.”

Gorski said Miami-Dade County was the first in Florida to have cardiac technicians—paramedics under a doctor's license who performed certain skills and treated under protocols. The hugely successful program was copied in his area.

“Four ER doctors at Sarasota Memorial Hospital worked 24-hour shifts and were your medical director,” he said. “There was nothing in the legislation in the late 70s, early 80s about [advanced life support (ALS)] providers and the requirement of having a medical director; it was still under the local control of health departments.” Gorski said those four doctors wrote the first set of protocols such as “before you call us, start an IV and give oxygen.”

“As they gained trust in you, they started adding more [protocols]—especially for cardiac arrest—before you called,” he said. “When you called, you spent awhile on the radio giving a report to that hospital. Today, it’s short and sweet and to the point because of the technology.”

Gorski noted that although California was one of the first states in the nation to have a paramedic program, it was not among the first to offer certification. He said much of the resistance came from hospitals. Florida eventually created standards and certification for paramedics. Gorski’s certification number is 82.

Gorski served with the Sarasota County Fire Department for 33 years, eventually becoming its fire chief. He retired from there and then served as the Englewood, Florida, fire chief for three years. He was then recruited by Southern Manatee County as its fire chief. Gorski was set to retire in April 2021 when he accepted an offer to join North Port Fire Rescue. It’s the excitement of the profession that has kept him in it for five decades, he said.

“It’s got its ups and downs, but every day it's something different,” he said. “It’s something I like to do. You make a difference in the community. This is your other family.”

Healthcare is a family affair. Gorski met his wife of 43 years, Tracey, while on the job. She worked at Sarasota Pathology, and Gorski said he always saw her when he would bring patients to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. They began dating and the rest is history. Other family members have followed in Gorski’s footsteps. His son Cameron is a firefighter/paramedic at the same station where Gorski started. His daughter Kaitlin is a physician assistant at Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s trauma center. Her husband Justin is a Sarasota County firefighter/paramedic.

Regarding the changing nature of calls over time, Gorski said that “back then, we had sick people. I think people now use the service where they don't need to be using the service. We used to carry Narcan and never once had an opportunity to give it. Today, you give it all the time. It’s that, a lot of suicides, attempted suicides, and mental health issues.”

Gorski said his biggest challenge is one likely shared by many agencies: funding to advance the organization. “You only have so many dollars,” he said. “In North Port, EMS is funded through ad valorum taxes, so you're competing with other departments for those dollars. We have a user fee, but once that user fee is collected, it goes back into the general fund and you’re competing for your dollars.”

To help mitigate that, Gorski has successfully sought out grants, enabling his agency to get equipment such as the Handtevy pediatric resuscitation system, which he views as “the gold standard.” The agency also has secured video laryngoscopes for all the rigs.

Hurricanes pose another challenge. “These past three years, we've taken a beating by these storms,” he said, adding it forced the closure of some hospitals, caused structural damage, and overwhelmed the hospitals that were not as badly affected.

When Hurricane Ian hit in 2024, Gorski’s station lost power, water, and sewer. “We were taking buckets and getting water out of the ditch to flush the toilet,” he said. “The calls were unbelievable. You’re taking care of this community. But you live somewhere else, and you're wondering what's going on there and you can't get a hold of your family because the cell towers are down.”

Five days after Hurricane Ian hit, “We were able to get a FEMA Disaster Medical Assistants Teams hospital set up to help out, plus strike teams and ambulances,” he said. “But those storms as well as the flooding put us behind. We still have damage to these stations from Ian.”

Gorski said some of the most memorable experiences in his career include opening new stations, including one dedicated to him. He also enjoys hiring people.

“When I got to North Port, they wanted to take their EMS to the next level,” he said. “We were able to successfully go through accreditation.” North Port Fire Rescue is one of the 26 out of 339 licensed Florida EMS providers to have Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services accreditation.

Gorski said he rarely gets stressed, but if something does get to him, he’ll drive around a bit in his car. He also enjoys spending time with his family and astronomy, gazing into the sky through a large telescope.

Gorski advised those interested in emergency medicine to be cognizant that training extends beyond graduation.

“Things are always changing,” he said. “Protocols change. New medications come on. Old ones come off. There’s new equipment and new sequences in how you treat people. Fire trucks change. Do the education you’re supposed to and you’re going to enjoy this career.”

Gorski also advised EMS workers to prioritize their families.

An EMS career has its ups and downs, Gorski said. “A change in leadership is normal. You get a new county administrator or new city manager. They have a different philosophy. You work with it. Don't let it bother you. It gives you a challenge to educate them.”

Addressing what he thinks EMS will look like in the future, Gorski said he hopes artificial intelligence (AI) doesn’t play a major role as it starts infiltrating emergency medicine. For example, a paramedic activates an app on an iPad and the patient speaks with AI, which is conducting an assessment and indicating whether the patient should stay home or be transported to the hospital.

“It’s got its place, but not in in an emergency,” he said. “It’s still going to require human intervention to physically see, touch, and smell in order to treat appropriately.”

Gorski predicts a greater need for community paramedicine programs, which he says reduce “frequent flyer” 9-1-1 calls and offer those patients appropriate care or other resources.

Another change Gorski finds “kind of scary” is the future of communications. “When I was on rescue, we would call in to the hospital on the medical radio and talk back and forth,” he said. “Today, it’s an app on their iPad; you just text the message, ‘This is Rescue 81. We’re en route. We’ll be there in 10 minutes with a 50-year-old with chest pain.’ [And the hospital responds] ‘OK, you're going to bed 12.’”

“Hopefully, it doesn't get any shorter than that, but that's definitely sped that process up. I can't stop progress. But we have to watch it because you don't want somebody to slip through the cracks on communication. When we implemented that app, we did it slow. If they've got a cardiac alert, a STEMI alert, a stroke alert, or trauma alert, they’re still doing it by radio instead of the app.”

Gorski said he is bothered by the decrease in people interacting in person and choosing video conferencing instead—a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. “If you want to meet, we meet in person,” he said.

Emergency medicine funding is another concern for the future, Gorski said. “Everything has a lifespan,” he said, pointing out equipment that eventually will have to be replaced at a big price tag. He also sees a significant need for Medicare, Medicaid, and other insurance reimbursement improvements.

Gorski takes heart that his region is not experiencing recruitment challenges, with 16 people currently in paramedic school. He credits job fairs as one driving factor.

Dave Ingalls, North Port Fire Rescue District Chief and public information officer, described Gorski as a humble person who has elevated the level of service everywhere he’s worked. “He’s the first person in here every morning—he shows up and gets to work,” Ingalls said. “I don't know how he does it. None of us do. He really is exceptional.”