Jerry Biggart is fully aware of the dangers paramedics face when they're on the job.
“A lot of people go to work and it’s a relatively routine job,” said Biggart, a firefighter with the Oak Creek Fire Department near Milwaukee. “Every time that tone goes off, we have no idea what it’s going to be."
Sometimes, the danger is obvious — an active-shooter situation, for example, or a building collapse, or even a car crash in heavy traffic. Other times, though, the danger isn't as apparent, such as on a routine medical call.
“We don’t routinely wear body armor. We don’t have weapons," Biggart said. "We’re there to deal with the medical problem at hand."
But even those seemingly normal calls have the potential to become dangerous. That became obvious in Appleton last week, when Mitchell Lundgaard, 36, a 14-year veteran of the Appleton Fire Department, died after shots rang out after he and other paramedics and police responded to a medical emergency.