It is a sombre day for EMS professionals in Oxford County.
OXFORD COUNTY - Oxford County Public Health and Emergency Services and Oxford Paramedics are mourning the loss of Chief Joe Pember.
Pember passed way on on Sunday night. Deputy Chief of Paramedic Services Stephen Turner tells Heart FM what Joe meant to the local EMS community.
"Joe loved his job, he lived, slept and ate up emergency medical services, he's been doing this most of his life and he was recognized as a leader in his field, here and across the Province. Joe knew everybody in the community, he knew all his staff, he knew everyone in our allied services through the police, through fire departments, hospitals, he knew everyone and he was so well regarded by everyone."
Joe was a respected member of the profession provincially, serving on the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs board, and locally, having served with the Pember family-run Woodstock Ambulance Ltd. before it amalgamated to become Oxford EMS. Lynn Beath, Director, Public Health & Emergency Services, Oxford County offered this statement to the media.
“Oxford County paramedics and colleagues at Public Health are torn by the unexpected loss of Joe, who had so much more to contribute to his community and the profession. Right now, our thoughts are with his family as they try to cope with his sudden loss. We understand they are asking for privacy in these early days.”

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