Who Answers the Call? Aston Fire Volunteer EMT Tabitha Guthrie

Aston Township Fire Department EMT Tabitha Guthrie spent much of her childhood at the Bucks County fire company where her family volunteered. She loved watching her father, grandfather, and the other firefighters and EMTs practice skills that prepared them to save property and lives. Her mom, grandmother, and other women kept the men hydrated and fed. Tabitha knew the department couldn’t run well without that essential support, “But I wanted to be the one in the firetruck,” she said.

At 15, Tabitha told her dad she wanted to join. “He said, ‘The firehouse is no place for a young lady,’” she remembered. So Tabitha pursued other dreams.

After high school, she studied accounting at Penn State, then married Shaun and worked for his family’s embroidery and screen printing business while their three children, Christian, 17, Andrew, 15, and Samantha, 10, were in their neediest years. Samantha was becoming more independent in 2012, when Guthrie family friend John Lloyd - then chief of Aston Township Fire Department - told Tabitha that having more women in the ranks would greatly benefit Aston Fire. “We need you,” he told her.

“I got on the ambulance one day, and it was like, ‘Oh! I want to do this forever.’” she said. Tabitha became an EMT and also earned vehicle rescue certification. On accident scenes, she helps cut vehicles apart to free those trapped inside, then provides emergency medical care and transit. The work is incredibly rewarding. “I like to see people at the end of the process, where they are at the hospital and smiling at you because they are no longer in pain,” she said. Sometimes Tabitha and her husband respond together; Shaun is an Aston Fire assistant engineer.

Tabitha’s father is very proud of her accomplishments and volunteer service. He always wants to hear about her experiences, and regularly tells her how impressed her late grandfather would be, too.

She never tires of volunteering. “I love being there for people, and I love the people I get to be with – the friends I’ve made, who are now part of my family,” she said. “It’s also neat to show my kids what we can do, and that sometimes it’s nice to go out and help others without receiving a paycheck to do it.” Her volunteer work has, however, led to a paid career: Tabitha is an emergency department technician at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. The EMT training and certification that Aston Township Fire Department paid for was all the training she needed.

In addition to emergency response, Tabitha volunteers for community events. She loves driving the ambulance in any Aston parade, windows down so she can wave - especially when she hears a young person excitedly tell those around her, “That’s a girl driving!”

Think this rewarding and exciting way to give back to your community is right for you? Every fire company and rescue squad in Delaware County needs volunteers. Learn more at FightDelcoFires.com. Volunteer NOW. Lives Depend On It!