FDNY emergency medical technicians and paramedics answer nearly 5,000 calls across the city every day.
Joining the team takes intense, state-of-the-art training. CBS2’s Hazel Sanchez recently got a behind-the-scenes look. Sanchez was there to see EMTs and paramedic trainees respond to a man in cardiac arrest. He wasn’t real, but as students like Kevin Rehrer attested, the scenario and pressure was as close as it gets.
“This has been the best and most stressful time of my life,” Rehrer said.
The training is critical to join the more than 4,000 EMTs with the FDNY. Last year, they responded to more than 1,531,000 medical emergencies, their busiest year on record. They undergo rigorous training at the FDNY Emergency Medical Service Academy at Fort Totten in Queens. There are 13 weeks of training for EMTs and nine months of training for paramedics.