It was a sad day for colleagues as they watched the man they worked with walk off the job after 37+ years into retirement.
NEW CASTLE (DE): After over 37 years in the Emergency Medical Services Division in the Department of Public Safety, Chief Lawrence E. Tan finally walked away from it all. An informal ceremony was held on Friday afternoon at the New Castle County Public Safety Building with friends, family, colleagues, and agencies he’s worked with over the years.
Tan started his career while in high school as a Volunteer Firefighter and EMT. He was appointed to the county service in 1982 as an ambulance cardiac technician. Tan has served at all levels of the organization, including Paramedic, EMS Lieutenant, Emergency Services Assistant Manager, Assistant Chief and Deputy Chief.
Tan was the first person to be officially designated as the Public Information Officer (PIO) for New Castle County EMS, and developed the media relations program for the paramedic service.
His executive staff assignments have included commands on both the administrative and operational of the agency.
He guided the New Castle County Paramedics to become the first EMS agency in Delaware to achieve national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) in December 2009.
The EMS Division was also the first advanced life support (ALS) intercept agency to ever complete the CAAS accreditation process.
We’ve been so fortunate to have such skills and leadership for so long.
Matt Meyer, New Castle County Executive
Chief Tan has received several awards and commendations from both the Department of Public Safety and other organizations. He has been presented at several regional and national conferences for emergency medical services and emergency management professionals.
