ORTONA — Veteran Glades County first responder David Heflin has dedicated 25 years of his own life to helping keep fellow citizens safe. His wife, who works for Glades County government, too, and he have two sons who also volunteer alongside him in the Ortona Volunteer Fire Department.

So there may be Heflin family members in the county’s corps of public safety workers for many years, maybe even decades, to come.

The senior Mr. Heflin has lived in Glades County for most of his life. He graduated from Moore Haven High School in 1983. In 1991, he became a certified Emergency Medical Technician after studying at the West Technical Education Center in Belle Glade.

David Heflin Sr. went on to receive his paramedic license from the then Edison Community College in Fort Myers, which since has become Florida SouthWestern State College.

Mr. Heflin has worked for EMS for 25 years, six of those for the Glades County EMS; and he also worked in the Hendry County EMS as a lieutenant paramedic. He has been a volunteer firefighter for Glades County for several years as well.

The senior Heflin is married to Tina Heflin, also an employee of the Glades County government. He has four children: David Jr. (“Scotty”) who is also an employee of Glades County as a firefighter/EMT; Kaitlyn, who lives in Ohio and works as an operating-room nurse; Jake, who is attending iTech in Immokalee for information technology certifications and is also a volunteer fireman; and youngest son Patrick, who works with his grandpa in the recycle repair business.

Both older sons David Jr. and Jake also volunteer with their dad for the Ortona Volunteer Fire Department.

The senior Mr. Heflin isn’t just a part-timer, though. You will also find him working another job as a paramedic in the emergency room at Hendry Regional Medical Center in Clewiston.

In his free time — and yes, he does have some — Mr. Heflin Sr. is also a proud pappy to grandson Easton.

On his days off, he enjoys fishing and, of course, spending time with his family.