EMS and EMT/paramedic students currently enrolled in training have been thrust into “first-hand experience” situations at the site of the latest shootings and disasters. From incidents at high schools, colleges, and universities, to occurrences of work place violence, and infrastructure calamities, trained EMS personnel and current EMT students have stepped up and have been critical in saving lives.
An example was evident at Lone Star College back in 2013. Lone Star is a campus with over 10,000 students. According to a school spokesman, three people and one gunman were wounded in shooting that erupted after an altercation between two people.
When shots were heard accounts began to come in regarding the response by students. An EMT in one class put his training to work and immediately jumped up, shut off the lights (to give the illusion of an empty classroom), and then barricaded the door with a table.
Another EMT training student said he had just come out of his EMT class when he saw two injured people and he quickly stopped to provide emergency medical services. Officers had not yet arrived, he said.
Fast forward to the collapse of the overpass at Florida International University. The news reported that bystanders trained in emergency medical services were able to help the injured before First Responders were on the scene.
There are also several incidents of EMS heroes, true heroes, not a light use of the term. An example is found in the 2017 response of Susie Tingler, an EMS chief, who along with other EMS workers (while under police protection), sacrificed their own safety as they went in to a workplace where a mass shooting had just taken place. Their actions led to two people, who had been injured in the shooting, being saved.
Many incidents are found when off-duty EMTs or paramedics are the first on the scene of an accident. Their training saves lives on-the-spot. This YouTube video from Lincoln County WKYT News is a great example:
Often our news covers heroic deeds by firefighters and police, yet does it seem that EMS, EMT, and paramedics are put on the back burner when it comes to front-up news? We think so. Granted, often the trained EMS person is the firefighter or police, yet First Responders, like police and fire personnel, are also at all the fires, shootings, tragedies, and disasters. In fact, 43 Paramedics died on 9/11 along with the firefighters and EMTs. Yet often they continue to be the “quiet heroes.” Perhaps it is because the majority of people entering this profession do not do it for the fame, but for the dedication to their fellow human beings.
This is why the profession of EMS personnel is so important. Look into our EMT and paramedic training articles and guidelines now and become a part of the elite who can and will know how to respond in just such emergencies.