I became an EMT in 1979, one year before becoming a Firefighter. Back in those days the Sacramento Region had EMT’s and EMT 2’s. Today we have EMT’s and Paramedics. EMT’s are what we call in laymen’s terms, “Basic Life Support Providers”. We can take vital signs, perform CPR, insert basic airways, and perform many other basic life support functions. Paramedics however can do so much more.

In our Fire Department, well over one half of our Firefighters are trained as Paramedics. The citizens of Sacramento are much better off because of this! What a Paramedic can do for victims of medical emergencies truly amazes me and I think that most people really don’t know what these amazing folks can do.

They are trained in advanced airway management and can treat persons suffering from Congestive Heart Failure, COPD, and many other life threatening airway problems. They have many different tools at their disposal to treat heart attack victims, and they can administer many different drugs for a variety of illnesses and injuries. They even have the ability to use a tool to infuse the patient with life saving fluids and drugs when a patient’s vein is not accessible for an I.V. They treat seizures, asthma attacks, drug overdoses, and all kinds of trauma including gun shot and stabbing victims, auto accidents, etc. I have not scratched the surface of what these men and women can do. I like to tell people that we bring the emergency room to your home!

Paramedic training consists of well over a thousand hours of classroom study along with hospital and field training. There is also a large amount of continuing education that is required throughout a Paramedics career. Many people who start a paramedic training program do not finish. The training is difficult and lengthy. It takes a lot of commitment to become a Paramedic. It is very stressful and it is not for everybody!

The Sacramento Fire Department is definitely not the first Fire Department to use Paramedics. If you are as old as me, you will remember the TV show from the 70’s, “Emergency”. It showcased two Los Angeles County Firefighter/Paramedics. I’d be lying if I said this show didn’t influence my career choice!

Most of the Nations Fire Departments now utilize Paramedics and are the First Responders to their communities Medical Emergencies. It was a very natural progression for the Fire Service to respond to these types of calls. Fire Stations are strategically located through out a community and for a very long time Firefighters have been trained in basic first aid. Throughout the years we have definitely stepped up this level of service.

The Sacramento Fire Department currently has 23 Fire Engines, 9 Fire Trucks, and 12 Medics. All of our Medics (Ambulances) have Paramedics assigned to them and our Fire Engines and Trucks also have Paramedics on board. It would be very rare to find an Engine or Truck Company without a Paramedic on board. This is why we send a Fire Engine or Truck to every medical aid call. We can get a Paramedic to you in a short amount of time.

Our Firefighter/Paramedics not only serve the citizens of Sacramento, but they utilize their medical training all over the world. Our Firefighter/Paramedics responded to some of our largest disasters, including Hurricane Katrina and the 911 attacks. We also have three of our Firefighters currently serving our Country in the National Guard in Afghanistan as Flight Medics. A few other members of the Sacramento Fire Department have also served in Iraq and other parts of the world!