Shelton’s Echo Hose Ambulance held their second annual 24-hour charity run this weekend with EMT Michael Pereiro.
Shelton's Echo Hose Ambulance held their second annual 24-hour charity run this weekend with EMT Michael Pereiro.
Last year, Pereiro ran for 24 hours and helped raise more than $7,000 to help purchase a new ambulance for the Echo House EMT.
"It's a 24-hour ultra-marathon," said Pereiro. "Basically, what we're doing is a 2.98-mile loop."
Pereiro's pace was steady as he finished his run with a goal of helping a fellow EMT and his organization. Each step is a reminder of why he's running and who the EMT is running for during the chilly month of December.
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"It's very, very hard to go on and keep volunteers just because the wages are not always the best," said Pereiro.
The Frozen 24 fundraiser, put together by the Shelton emergency organization, has a dual purpose in 2021. Half of the donations will go towards helping the emergency service organization.
"A lot of times, donations and grants are ways that we purchase new equipment and it's really, really important," said Joseph Laucella, who is the assistant chief of Echo Hose Ambulance.
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The other half of the donations will go to help Josh Henriquez, a fellow EMT who was hit by a car in September while training for a marathon.
Henriquez made a special appearance to cheer Michael on during the last leg of the event on Saturday.
"It's something that he loves, something that I love and him doing something he loves is great, it's phenomenal and everybody getting together is awesome," said Henriquez. "I really appreciate the support and the family that we've grown to create."
During Pereiro's running tour, he had a little help on each side from his fellow EMTs and his mom.
"This is very important because this way he knows that you know someone is behind him," said Jenny Pereiro. "He has a lot of people supporting him from his job as an EMT but he also needs his family."
Pereiro ran more than 60 miles during the 24-hour event and the effort led to more than $5,000 being donated. Pereiro's hope is to see more people in the community support their local EMT.
"I've done calls, where we had to go and stabilize people and we really saved their lives and if they didn't have someone during those critical moments, they would've passed away," said Pereiro. "A lot of times, some patients hospital could be more than 30 minutes away."
If you would like more information about how to support Echo Hose, click here.
