There is debate in some Ohio municipalities over whether to let firefighters and paramedics carry firearms while on duty.
The Dayton Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/O3rwtT) that Tim Holman, chief of German Township Fire and EMS in Clark County, said he is considering the pros and cons to allow his paramedics and emergency medical technicians to carry concealed handguns on the job because of concerns over potential violence at incident scenes.
In 2011, Holman hosted a forum at the EMS World Expo in Las Vegas called, “Is it Time to Arm our EMTs?” He said some EMS departments across the country are considering arming their crews, because the job is becoming more dangerous and there has been a string of violent and deadly attacks on medical responders.
Critics say medical first-responders do not have the training to act as police officers, and learning how to avoid and escape violent situations would make EMS workers safer and make more sense that equipping them with lethal weapons.
Read more about this story at http://bit.ly/O3rwtT.
For more on self-defense for firefighters and EMTs, consider New Free Firefighters/EMT Self-Defense Program Available, National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System: Down But Definitely Not Out, and TIPS FOR SCENE SIZE-UP AND SAFETY.
