From amazing saves, unbelievable videos, important industry news and breaking events, EMS1 posted hundreds of news stories over the past 12 months.
We went through our archives and rounded up what readers considered the most popular articles of the year.
1. Patient ejected in Ga. ambulance crash
A patient and two medics were injured when an ambulance left the roadway and crashed into trees. The patient was thrown from the vehicle by the impact, but all injuries were not life-threatening.
2. Photo: FDNY Lt. breaks down after racist tweets exposed
An EMS lieutenant at FDNY was suspended after posting a string of racist tweets. He reportedly called Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is Jewish, ‘King Heeb,’ referred to black people as “coloreds” and called Asian people “chinks.” Photographs showed him breaking down when reporters confronted him about the allegations.
3. EMT shoves cop out of ambulance, gets arrested
An FDNY medic got into a dispute with a transit officer, and was briefly arrested for allegedly shoving the cop from the back of an ambulance while a woman with chest pains was being treated inside.
4. Video: Dying heroin addict brought back to life by wonder drug Naloxone
Watch the moment an overdosing heroin addict was revived by Naloxone, also known as Narcan. Many have been pushing for widespread disbursement of the drug, particularly for police officers and other first responders to administer before patients are taken to the hospital.
5. 911 call: Nurse refuses to perform CPR on elderly woman
When an 87-year-old woman collapsed, a staff member at Glenwood Gardens called 911 but refused to give CPR, saying it was against the facility’s policy. The dispatcher tried to plead with her, saying, “It’s a human being. Is there anybody that’s willing to help this lady and not let her die?”
6. EMT rescues own child when called to daycare for child abuse
An EMT responded to a call of a baby that was reportedly shaken until it was unresponsive. Once she arrived on the scene, she realized it was her own child.
7. Father tried to save son’s life after equipment failure left medic in tears
A father relived the harrowing moment he had to step in and treat his dying son — after a female paramedic broke down in tears when she could not insert an endotracheal tube meant to clear his airways.
8. Okla. firefighter dies after fight with fellow firefighter
Few details were released about the death of Okla. volunteer firefighter Dale Patterson, 56, who died following a fight with another firefighter at the firehouse.
9. Missing woman’s body found in wrecked car after it was towed
The body of a missing North Carolina woman was found inside her car at an impound three days after it was towed from a crash scene. Her family wants answers.
10. Ohio’s largest EMS providers close overnight; hundreds lose jobs
First Med, the parent company of LIFE Ambulance and MedCorp — which together are the largest providers of EMS service in the state of Ohio — abruptly closed putting hundreds of employees out of work without notice.
