PARAMEDIC David Maxwell got a pleasant surprise earlier this year when St John Ambulance staff and volunteers threw a party to celebrate his 30 years with the service.
There was a bit of skulduggery involved. David’s wife excused herself for lunch with a friend, before one of the St John volunteers phoned and asked if he could provide cover.
“Five minutes later, she called again and said there was a job and I was needed,” David said. 
“I went to the depot and as I came around the corner everyone was there.”
David was born in Dumbleyung and his family moved to Narrogin not long after, where he completed his schooling.
“About two years out of high school my next-door neighbour asked me if I wanted to help out by driving an ambulance,” he said.
“I think I drove it for three months and then jumped in the back.
“I preferred treating patients to driving. I thought I could make a difference.”
David applied for a job with St John at the end of 1993 and was offered a position if he was prepared to go to Port Hedland.
“I did my three-year degree and training in Perth,” he said.
“I then went up to Port Hedland, where I worked for seven-and-a-half years.”
At the time, there were just three paid staff in Port Hedland.
They worked 48 hours on call and then had 48 hours off.
The majority of jobs were between 10pm and 3am. Staff were given a phone and the keys to the ambulance, and were responsible for whatever jobs came in over the 48 hours.
“My first job was a significant head-on crash, and from then on it never eased up,” David said. 
“We were always busy.
“Back in those days, when the public dialled 000, we actually answered the call and talked directly to them.”
David and his family moved to Collie after he was offered a position at the local depot in 2004.
He has family in the southern corner of WA and was familiar with the area.
A position in Albany was also available, but David described the move to Collie as “probably the best decision we ever made”.
“The easiest way to integrate into any community is to become part of the community,” he said.
“I joined one of the hockey clubs here, and played for a few years until the bones got too old.”
Outside of work, David also enjoys clay shooting and fishing, while spending time with his grandchildren is a strong focus.
He said it is important to be able to maintain a separation between his work and personal life.
“You learn very early that you have to process it and de-stress somehow,” he said.
“I’ve also been really lucky that I enjoy my work so much to ever want to move away from it.”
David said while St John is associated with emergency care, it also provides a range of important, non-emergency services.
“Non-emergency work is probably about 80 percent of what we do,” he said.
“It could be something like picking nanna up from the nursing home and taking her down to the hospital.
“In fact, patient transfers are the type of work we need volunteers for, people who can spare three hours every now and then to drive down to Bunbury and back.”
Volunteers work with paid staff and are not left on their own.
There is no pressure for volunteers to take on additional responsibilities, but St John provides pathways for those who are keen to build their skills.
“Hopefully volunteers may wish to move on to attending in the back, but it’s not a requirement,” David said.
“There’s three levels of volunteers, the first of which is being a driver.
“At the second level, volunteers build a few more skills. We send them away to do a course, with no cost involved. 
“The third level is made up of our emergency technicians.”
Volunteers who are available at least once a month are welcome.
David encourages anyone thinking about volunteering to get in contact with St John.
“Come in and have a chat,” he said.