Kyle Martincic, 34, was the kind of guy that everybody looked up to. His superiors at the White River Township Fire Department (WRTFD) where he was a paramedic said he was the kind of guy that people wanted to help them.
Martincic died in August after experiencing a medical emergency during a routine department training drill. He was immediately provided with emergency medical care at the scene by WRTFD paramedics, firefighters and EMTs who were also involved in the training.
Martincic joined WRTFD in September of 2019, stationed at Firehouse 51.
“Kyle was one of those paramedics that if you were in need, you were happy that he walked into your house,” said EMT Chief Ron Hayes. “He wasn’t just a paramedic, he was a paramedic that took his job very seriously. He was very smart, very outgoing and without a question he loved his job.”
Hayes was Martincic’s direct supervisor in his time at WRTFD and he said he took that same mentality back to his home with his family. He said he loved his wife and kids more than everything and did everything possible to take care of his wife and two children.
Before becoming an EMT in White River, he worked down in Bloomington at IU Health with Hayes.
“He’s one of those guys that the moment you meet him, his demeanor captures you and draws you in and the more you were around him, you could tell every day you were around him that he was where he’s suppose to be,” Hayes said.
Hayes said in their time down in Bloomington together, Martincic treated everyone with respect.
“He treated everyone with respect,” Hayes said, “It didn’t matter if you were homeless or if you lived in a $2 million home.” Hayes added.
Lieutenant David Scholl began reaching out to Martincic’s shift partners and people he worked with and they all said there is a big hole they have to fill now that he’s not with them.
“They were definitely accustomed to Kyle coming in and his attitude and everything he was.” Scholl said. “He’s definitely left a hole in our organization for a while.”
Scholl added that he didn’t know Martincic personally, but from a departmental level, he was everything the department worked to be.
“We have the core values at our department, teamwork, respect, integrity and professionalism and Kyle met every one of them to the fullest,” Scholl said.
