AMERICAN SIRENS

A mostly inspiring account of the early days of American emergency services and the Black men who advanced the level of care and attention.

As journalist and former paramedic Hazzard points out, until the 1970s, if someone suffered a medical crisis, a call for help brought the police or perhaps a hearse from the local mortuary. If the victim was bleeding, struggling to breath, or in cardiac arrest, the untrained attendants did nothing; their job was transportation to a hospital. Critics maintained that this “swoop and scoop” process led to thousands of preventable deaths each year. Central to reform was Peter Safar, a fiercely dedicated anesthesiologist who tried to establish an emergency ambulance service, a plan killed by police and doctor opposition. In 1967, a breakthrough arrived in the form of the Freedom House, a tiny nonprofit “with the long-term goal of fostering Black-owned businesses.” Galvanized after receiving a federal grant, Safar organized an intense, nine-month course to teach emergency procedures. Forty-four Black men joined the first class; 24 emerged in early 1968 and went to work. Hazzard recounts many dramatic rescues along with the lives of individual volunteers, often high school dropouts with difficult pasts, who became skilled paramedics. Within years, cities throughout the nation established their own emergency services. Yet this is not a story with a happy ending. Peter Flaherty, the newly elected White mayor, cut the Freedom House budget and inflicted petty aggravations—e.g., forbidding ambulances from operating sirens downtown. Stubbornly uncooperative, police continued to respond to calls and, if they arrived first, carried the victims away without emergency treatment. In 1974, Flaherty announced expansion of city emergency services, but it would be run by the police. As a result, Freedom House disbanded. Faced with vigorous opposition, Flaherty agreed to hire every employee who wanted to join, but those who transferred were harassed and given subordinate positions under men with less training.

Good history and an admirable effort to document the achievements of a pioneering Black organization.