When Christine Couteau moved to Montgomery 4 years ago, she was looking for a way to get to know her new community. Originally from France, Christine had spent 26 years in California with her husband and two daughters before settling in town. Like many newcomers, she wanted to feel connected. Then she began noticing the lawn signs around Montgomery asking for EMS volunteers.
For Christine, the signs sparked more than casual interest. Before moving to the United States, she had worked as a veterinarian in France. During those years, she discovered that she was especially drawn to emergencies.
“I really loved emergencies way more than chronic diseases,” she said. “I never run away from emergencies or people needing help.”
“I realized it wasn’t too late to start training and to be part of it.”
The idea of joining Montgomery EMS seemed like the perfect fit: a way to serve, meet people, and return to the kind of urgent, hands-on work she had always found meaningful.
Her path to the squad also came through Montgomery’s strong French community. Another French member of Montgomery EMS, Celine Ressouche Awotar, encouraged Christine to learn more. Celine, who also had a medical background, explained how the squad worked and introduced her to Noemie Gerschel. That helped Christine realize that becoming an EMT was possible.
“I realized it wasn’t too late to start training and to be part of it,” Christine said. “So I was like, well, there’s no more excuses. Here I go.”
Christine found EMT training intense but rewarding. She appreciated learning not only patient care skills, but also how emergency response fits into a larger system, including incident command and FEMA training. Once she began responding to calls, she found the transition smoother than expected because of the support she received from other members.
“Everybody was so supportive around me,” she said. “At first, they gave me things to do that they knew I could do and then slowly pushed me into doing more.”
One call from early in her training remains especially memorable: the stabbing incident in Montgomery. Later, when the patient and his wife came to the squad building to thank the crew, Christine said it was powerful to see the full circle of the response.
Outside of EMS, Christine works as an accountant for small businesses. She is also deeply involved in field hockey, both as an umpire and as a player on the U.S. Masters team for her age group.
And now EMS is becoming a family affair. After seeing Christine’s commitment to the squad, her husband has decided to become an ambulance driver.
For Christine, Montgomery EMS has become exactly what she hoped it would be: a place to serve, learn, work as a team, and become part of the community she now calls home.
