Backing into a hospital dock and maneuvering through heavy traffic while transporting a patient are not skills people learn in driver’s education. As a driving instructor for the Chicago Fire Department Academy, Douglas E. Forsell pioneered a program for paramedics and emergency medical technicians that many considered to be the city’s first Ambulance Driving 101 course.
“He created the defensive and evasive driving course for the department,” said John McKillop, a longtime friend and assistant director of training emergency medical services for the Chicago Fire Department. “Before him, there wasn’t such a program. He was very instrumental in putting together a program that ended up cutting our accident rates.”
Mr. Forsell, 52, died of complications from heart disease on Sunday, April 3, in Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Born in Chicago, Mr. Forsell grew up in Elmwood Park and developed a taste for the outdoors after spending time at an uncle’s farm in Wisconsin.
He began his career as a paramedic with the Chicago Fire Department in 1978 and found his calling when he joined the academy in 1988. Using cones and barriers, Mr. Forsell taught maneuvers that would help drivers steer around obstacles that might arise during ambulance runs. These life-saving techniques helped many emergency workers and their patients arrive safely at destinations, McKillop said.
“At one time or another, every single paramedic and a good number of the firemen had Doug’s imprint on them, because they would’ve come through his classes,” McKillop said. “He was directly in charge of the driving academy.”
Mr. Forsell also taught emergency service training courses at the city’s community colleges, said his friend Tom Scipione, who invited Mr. Forsell to teach at Malcolm X College. Mr. Forsell took the time to get to know his students and used information from their experiences to build lessons that would apply to their lives, Scipione said.
“He was a great instructor,” Scipione said. “He put the point across using levity and sometimes jokes in the classroom. He always had the students involved in their education.”
Mr. Forsell often sought feedback from friends and students for tips on how to improve his teaching skills. He also gave his fair share of criticism, said his wife of 25 years, Verla.
“I hated to have him in the car when I was driving,” his wife said. “He was always giving us tips or instructions, driving tips. I was always too close, too far, not aggressive enough.”
The couple raised their three sons in Norwood Park on the city’s Northwest Side.
Mr. Forsell was an avid outdoorsman. He was an active duck and pheasant hunter and often took fishing trips to Lake Geneva with friends, his wife said. In 2004, the couple took a cruise in Alaska, finally realizing a trip they had postponed when Mrs. Forsell became pregnant with their youngest son. Other survivors include three sons, Jeremiah, Joshua and Eric; a sister, Ann Zanoni; and a granddaughter.
Services were held.
