The Tidewater EMS
Council is deeply saddened by the death of long-time EMS leader James M.
Wagenbach.James M. Wagenbach
1929 - 2003
The Tidewater EMS
Council is deeply saddened by the death of long-time EMS leader James M.
Wagenbach.
Chief Wagenbach retired after 33 years of dedicated service as the Chief of Emergency Services of Franklin Fire & Rescue. He was a Charter Director of the Tidewater EMS Council’s Board of Directors, from October of 1974 until his retirement from the Board in January of 2003. He was a past chairperson of the Mobile Intensive Care Committee, now the Patient Care Committee, and the Leadership and Management Committee. He is a past President of the State Fire Chief’s Association.
Chief Wagenbach brought Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) to the area. He taught the first CPR class in Tidewater. Chief Wagenbach was awarded the first R. C. Dailey Award for Excellence in EMS in 1993. He is a member of the Bryan R. Grinnan, Jr., M.D. Memorial Research Award Hall of Fame. Chief Wagenbach was awarded this prestigious award in 1995 by the American Heart Association. He was awarded the Governor’s Award for Excellence in EMS in 1998. The Tidewater EMS Council named the Outstanding EMS Instructor Award after Chief Wagenbach upon his retirement from the Board this year.
He will be sorely missed.