By Miranda Leitsinger
NBC News
NEWTOWN, Conn. – Emergency medical services responders in this “volunteer town” were having an ordinary day on Friday, getting ready to go Christmas shopping, waiting in line at the post office or hanging out at home on the crisp fall morning when the call came in: Their skills were needed at Sandy Hook Elementary.
More than 20 members of the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps and two of its rigs rushed to the scene of what was first described simply as a “shooting in the building,” but quickly escalated to reports of a gunman -- or possibly two -- at large on the school grounds and gunfire, lots of gunfire.
They quickly set up primary and secondary triage sites, preparing to receive the wounded. But as other ambulances from neighboring communities rolled up, sirens blaring, the first responders slowly realized that their training would be tragically underutilized on this horrible day.
Full story: ‘You feel helpless': First responders rushed to school after shooting, only to wait