NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — To celebrate Emergency Medical Service (EMS) practitioners and the important work they do, the lights of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge will be lit up in orange and blue on Sunday.
2022 marks the 48th annual EMS Week, and this year the theme is "Rising to the Challenge."
President Gerald Ford authorized the annual EMS Week celebration in 1974.
EMS Week brings together local communities and medical personnel to honor the dedication of those on the front line of life-saving medical services.
“We have one of the busiest EMS divisions in the country. Our personnel respond to thousands of emergency medical incidents every year,” Director Chief William Swann said. “We honor not only our personnel who work in our EMS Operations Division, but all of our sworn NFD firefighters as well. All of our firefighters are EMTs, and many are Paramedics.”
The same year the celebration was declared, the Nashville Fire Department (NFD) began its EMS division, staffing 11 ambulances for transport. It began training firefighters as EMTs on the firetrucks in 1983.
Since then, firefighters have been able to respond to medical calls.
The department now has 28 ambulances and all engines, ladder companies and rescues respond to medical emergencies, for a comprehensive service to residents and visitors of Davidson County.
