Information for the following story, written by April Ziemer, came from the November 10th edition of the Amery Free Press.
“Fire and EMS have always held a special place in my heart,” said Rick Van Blaricom, (Boyceville High School Class of 1962). Van Blaricom spent many years serving on the Amery Ambulance Service and the Amery Fire Department.
At the November 4th regular meeting of the Amery City Council, Van Blaricom was honored at the start of the meeting for his 48 years of service as an EMT on the Ambulance Service. He had previously announced that he would retire from the service.
Nicole Gullickson from the Amery Area EMS presented Van Blaricom with a plaque honoring him for his many years of service. He currently services as Amery City Council President. Gullickson noted that, “He is going to be missed.”
Amery Fire Chief, Dale Koehler also thanked Van Blaricom for his years of service to the fire department, which Van Blaricom led for 26 years.
Van Blaricom is married to the former Bonnie Moe of Glenwood City and their children have followed in his footsteps working with the EMS and the Fire Department.
In a tribute to his dad on social media, Darren Van Blaricom recently posted, “We hear lots of people use the word “heroes” nowadays. But let me tell you about this guy, This week, he quietly retired as an EMT and put a cap on nearly 50 years in the Fire and Emergency Medical Service serving the Amery community. He started volunteering with the Amery Ambulance in 1975 and became the third EMT in Amery’s history later that year.
