A couple of 26-year-old paramedics from Windsor-Essex are winners of the 2015 National Paramedic Competition.
As a team, Tricia Rousseau and Chris Kirwan won in the advanced care division.
"We were up against teams that compete throughout the year, they compete regularly and they also practice throughout the year," says Kirwan. "We sort of put this thing together last minute. We were expecting to place in the bottom."
Rousseau says this award represents all of the Essex-Windsor EMS paramedics. "Some people congratulate me in front of my patients and that's exactly what they said, 'we have a national paramedic champion, we feel pretty safe,'" says Rousseau. "We're certainly no exception. All of our paramedics are just phenomenal."
The scenarios during the competition included treating two victims after a rollover accident; one had a gunshot wound and the other had a gun in his possession. Another scenario put the duo 7,000 ft up on Mt. Everest.
The trophy will be displayed in the Town of Essex.