![Black and white illustration of a circular paramedic badge, with a the medical symbol of a caduceus, a staff with two snakes coiled around it, and two lightning bolts on either side. Text reads: Criminal, Episode 222: The Paramedics.](https://thisiscriminal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/FirstParamedics_Art2-1024x1024.png)
The Paramedics
Episode #222
2023-06-09 05:00:08
As recently as 1965, if you had a medical emergency, the people who showed up at your door would be volunteer firefighters, police officers, or undertakers with a hearse. Today, the story of how a group of Black men from Pittsburgh changed that.
Kevin Hazzard’s book is American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America’s First Paramedics.