Middletown fire captain named First Responder of the Year

Middletown Division of Fire Captain David Von Bargen was named the First Responder of the Year by the Butler County Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Services Board.

Von Bargen received the award at the 12th annual Awards and Recognition Celebration on April 12 for his work responding to the opioid epidemic crisis in Middletown and the Butler County area.

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Von Bargen has been instrumental in leading the city’s response to the opioid crisis, according to the Butler County Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Services Board. In 2016, he implemented the Heroin Response Team made up of a paramedic, a police officer, and a drug addiction counselor with the purpose of visiting an individual who had overdosed and guide them into the health care system to receive the counseling and treatment needed to defeat their addiction.

Von Bargen also serves on numerous county, state and federal committees addressing the opioid crisis. He is also a member of the Butler County Emergency Management Agency Disaster Response Team. He has served on several disaster response operations across the county.

Von Bargen is a 23-year veteran of the City of Middletown Division of Fire.

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