NYC EMS

It was graduation day for a group of New York City Fire Department Emergency Medical Service officers. Four captains were promoted to the rank of EMS Deputy Chief and 52 EMTs were promoted to paramedic. They went through nine months of training to receive their advanced life support certification. The FDNY responds to 1.3 million 911 calls a year. More than half are advanced life support calls. "They've bonded together for nine months," said Abdo Nahmod, chief of EMS for the FDNY. "They've learned camaraderie, they've learned teamwork and they've learned how to work as teams to advance the patient care level being provided." "I spent some time as a paramedic, and then, of course, I moved to the officer rank, but again, the mandate was always the same. It has always been providing the best pre-hospital care, and it continues to be that, no matter what level we're at," said Deputy Chief Edward Bobb, a graduate. The graduates will be assigned to various units throughout the city.