Bloomington
Hundreds gathered to celebrate the life and career of a local paramedic who died in the line of duty last week.
Kyle Martincic, a career paramedic at the White River Township Fire Department, suffered a medical emergency while on duty during a routine training session Aug. 23.
Martincic, 34, died later that day at IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. His passing is the first line-of-duty death in the department’s history.
Martincic is survived by his wife, Angela, and two children.
Family, friends and colleagues who spoke at his funeral Monday said Martincic was a skilled paramedic, a loyal friend and a loving stepfather and husband.
Martincic lived out his dream of being paramedic at several agencies throughout the years. A Pana, Illinois native, he worked for several ambulance services in Illinois and fire departments in Elgin, Pana and Clinton, before moving to Indiana in 2018.
He joined White River Township’s fire department in 2019, and was assigned to Station No. 51. He also served as a paramedic with the Bargersville Community Fire Department and IU Health Bloomington EMS, in addition to working as an instructor at Central Nine Career Center.
Hundreds of firefighters from all over Indiana and Illinois attended his funeral along with family and friends to share condolences and remember their fallen colleague.
Several organizations also brought gifts to bestow on his family, including the Star of Life, an Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office honor given to families of fallen paramedics, and a Paramedic of the Year award, which White River Township Fire Department had been planning to give on Martincic at the department’s annual awards ceremony.
Martincic’s brother, Shawn Martincic, said he never met a stranger, was quick to make a joke, could find common ground with anyone and was always willing to help out others, which led to his career in paramedicine. Though he loved his career, what he loved the most was his wife and her children, Shawn Martincic said.
Rod Bland, chief of Pana Volunteer Fire Department, was a mentor for Martincic in Sunday school and in paramedicine, he said at the funeral. Bland remembers Martincic as someone who had a strong ability to connect with colleagues and patients, putting everyone at ease and bringing light to tense situations.
“We see a lot of hurt and pain but Kyle had a way of making things fun,” Bland said. “We loved him very much. There is a big hole in a lot of lives in a lot of places, in terms of his skills and the compassion he had for people.”
Drew Johnson, a paramedic field supervisor who worked with Martincic at IU Health, remembers Martincic as a good friend, a king of memes, a master of controlling a scene, a professional at comforting and educating patients and a true EMS geek, he said at the funeral.
The respect Martincic had for all first responders also stood out to Johnson, he said. It seemed that Martincic loved his job so much because he got to work with his heroes — the men and women who put their own lives on the line to save others, Johnson said.
“Kyle would never call himself a hero, but he was,” Johnson said. “The irony of it all is that he considered each and every one of you who put on the uniform and laces up their boots his hero. From the beginning of the chain at dispatch to EMS and fire and law enforcement to emergency department personnel, Kyle held you all in high regard.”
White River Township Fire Department has done its best to rally in the face of loss, said Jeremy Pell, fire chief.
“We shouldn’t have to wake up in the morning and wonder if we are going to treat one of our own. We are lifesavers. We take care of other people. We shouldn’t have to plan a line-of-duty funeral,” Pell said. “So as much as I’d like to tell you it is okay I can’t and I won’t.”
They’re balancing their own grief with putting on a brave face for his family, he said.
“We are dealing with this one step at a time. We are doing it to honor his family and explain to him what a great legacy he left and what a great service he provided to the White River Township community,” Pell said.
Hundreds of firefighters, paramedics and EMTs from Johnson County, the Bloomington-area and Illinois turned out to celebrate Martincic’s life and service.
Many also joined a procession from the site of funeral at Sherwood Christian Church to Allen Funeral Home and Crematory, where he will be cremated.
Firefighters he has worked with over the years loaded his casket into Medic 51 for his final ride as a member of the department in the procession. Medic 51 was Martincic’s ambulance on the job at the Olive Branch Road fire station.
Martincic did not work for White River Township for long, but he made a mark on the fire department and the community, Pell said. The department is better for knowing him, though the time was shorter than anyone could have imagined, he said.
“This isn’t where the story ends. We know that he is someplace watching over us and celebrating with his God,” Pell said. “He has taught us, not just in a practical way, but also in an emotional way how we should treat each other. This leaves a mark on our fire department and it is a mark for good. This is going to encourage us to carry on that legacy and treat people the way we know he would treat people and stay together as a family and treat this White River Township family like our family.”
