Expanding The Roles of First Responders
First responders. The title may seem self-explanatory; however, the day-to-day duties of a first responder are various and span several fields of service.
At the core, first responders are the men and women who strive to be the lasting difference between life and death. They are the first people on the sight of an emergency; they can be found wherever need may exist -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, nationwide. They come in different forms and with different titles, but all are committed to one essential goal -- saving lives.
What many Americans fail to recognize is the fact that first responders -- those community members who serve as firefighters, police and other emergency response personnel -- are, in fact, the country's first line of defense in the wake of a national emergency. Local police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) arrive on the scene of an emergency in order to help citizens through earth-shaking events, like national disasters and terrorist attacks, as well as to provide everyday assistance within their communities. Constantly alert and ready to engage themselves in dire situations, these professionals and volunteers are the individuals most readily available to save lives and tend to casualties.
For example, EMTs are some of the most recognizable members of the emergency response field. The explicit mission of EMTs is to save the lives of sick or injured individuals in emergencies. This is why EMTs are known more for their daily response to health or emergency-related incidents, such as health-related 911 calls or automobile accidents. However, the position of EMTs has been largely reevaluated and reorganized to play a more vital role in the first response team and its mission to neutralize and counter any manmade and natural disaster scenarios.
EMTs are generally divided into categories -- including First Responders (general), EMT-Basics and EMT-Intermediates and Paramedics -- based on amount of training and responsibilities in the field. First Responders generally undergo about 40 hours of training, while Paramedics can boast 1,000 or more. Requirements and licensing vary from geographic location to location. EMT training is offered at many community colleges, hospitals, fire and police academies, and other learning institutions.
When lives are on the line, proper training and experience are key factors in the EMT position. Duties EMTs must master vary by level; however, certain skills are mandated for all, including CPR, recognizing and treating life-threatening emergencies outside a hospital environment (such as cardiac arrest, respiratory and heart attacks, seizures, diabetic emergencies, traumatic injuries, etc.), and dealing with patient histories, assessments and immediate patient care.
The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) suggests that approximately 130,000 First Responders, 600,000 EMTs and 155,000 Paramedics currently are employed within the United States. The presence of these men and women is vital, particularly in small towns and rural communities where access to medical services and close proximity to hospitals may be limited.
The salaries of EMTs or paramedics vary widely based on level of training, location and other factors. According to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual salary of an EMT was reported to be approximately $27,070 in May 2006. The Bureau's Web site also offers that the National Employment Matrix predicts a 19 percent rise in the number of paid EMTs and paramedics between 2006 and 2016. It is important to note that, currently, most EMTs are volunteers.
Firefighters -- another crucial branch of the emergency response force -- can function in a variety of life-saving roles outside of extinguishing fires. Like EMTs, firefighters tend to be some of the first responders to emergency scenes, ranging from accidents to medical situations and disasters. These essential men and women must be flexible and able to face quickly changing and highly dangerous scenarios.
Firefighters may be paid or serve as volunteers. The BLS, however, cites that approximately 293,000 individuals held paying firefighter positions in 2006. Meanwhile, the National Fire Protection Association states that about 72 percent of fire companies were staffed entirely by volunteers in 2005 -- 823,350 of an estimated 1,136,650 firefighters. The services provided by volunteers save local governments across the country an estimated $37.2 billion annually, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council Foundation's 2004 report, Economic Impact of the Volunteer Fire Service Project.
Despite this tremendous number of men and women voluntarily putting their lives on the line, the NFPA reports that the number of volunteer firefighters in the United States has decreased by more than eight percent since 1984. Regardless of this decrease in service, the National Employment Matrix projects a 12 percent (approximately 35,000 jobs) increase in the number of paid firefighters nationwide between 2006 and 2016. In 2006, the median annual earnings of firefighters was $41,190.
Last but not least, the BLS reports that approximately 861,000 police and detectives made up the law enforcement side of first responders in 2006. The vast majority -- 79 percent -- of those officers were employed by local governments.
Daily duties of police officers vary widely depending on location, size and type of the managing organization. Nevertheless, all police officers are charged with the responsibility to exercise authority in the interest of assisting citizens during any emergency. Uniformed police officers with general law enforcement duties are called most often to respond to emergencies and calls for service, which can require an officer to perform several tasks, from supervising a crime scene to administering first aid. Training for state and local police departments includes weeks of comprehensive preparation at a police academy in order to ready individuals for their professional first responder status. Within these training sessions, potential officers are educated on numerous security-related topics, ranging from law and civil rights to emergency handling skills and self-defense.
The number of police and detective jobs nationally is expected to grow 11 percent from 2006 to 2016, according to the National Employment Matrix. In addition, the BLS cites that the median annual earnings of patrol officers in 2006 was $47,460.
This predicted growth in all of the first-responder fields is representative of both the American public's continued growing concern with national safety and the U.S. government's commitment to enforcing homeland security. The variety of roles within the first responder status -- from administering medical aid to managing a crisis situation -- provides numerous and ever-expanding ways for citizens to get involved and use their profession to maintain the safety of the country.