Evolution of EMS

Firefighters Receiving First Aid Diplomas
Date: 1925
Source: Kelleher Collection

Early ambulance transports a patient after a Motor Vehicle Accident.
Date: ca. 1940s
Source: Kelleher Collection

Firefighters Receiving First Aid Diplomas
Date: 1925
Source: Kelleher Collection

Early ambulance transports a patient after a Motor Vehicle Accident.
Date: ca. 1940s
Source: Kelleher Collection

The DC Fire Department started providing medical services on October 15, 1928, with the addition of an ambulance to the Department’s first rescue squad. For the next 50 years, firefighters with first aid training staffed the city’s ambulances, but the focus was almost entirely on providing transportation of patients to hospitals, rather than providing pre-hospital patient care. In 1966, the federal report, Accidental Death and Disability: the Neglected Disease of Modern Society, also known as the White Paper, was published. It highlighted deficiencies in mobile medical care provided to motor vehicle accident patients; in response, jurisdictions around the country started building professional Emergency Medical Services (EMS) programs.

Firefighters Receiving First Aid Diplomas
Date: 1925
Source: Kelleher Collection

Early ambulance transports a patient after a motor vehicle accident.
Date: ca. 1940s
Source: Kelleher Collection

Firefighters Receiving First Aid Diplomas
Date: 1925
Source: Kelleher Collection

Early ambulance transports a patient after a motor vehicle accident.
Date: ca. 1940s
Source: Kelleher Collection

First DC Emergency Medical Technician Class
Date: 1974
Source: Chris Zervas Collection

First DC Paramedic Class
Date: 1976
Source: Chris Zervas Collection

Date: Ca. 1960s
Source: Kelleher Collection

First DC Emergency Medical Technician Class
Date: 1974
Source: Chris Zervas Collection

First DC Paramedic Class
Date: 1976
Source: Chris Zervas Collection

Date: Ca. 1960s
Source: Kelleher Collection