The extraordinary story of an unjustly forgotten group of Black men in
Pittsburgh who became the first paramedics in America, saving lives and
changing the course of emergency medicine around the world
Until the 1970s, if you suffered a medical crisis, your chances of
survival were minimal. A 9-1-1 call might bring police or even the local
funeral home. But that all changed with Freedom House EMS in Pittsburgh,
a group of Black men who became America's first paramedics and set the
gold standard for emergency medicine around the world, only to have
their story and their legacy erased--until now.
In American Sirens, acclaimed journalist and paramedic Kevin Hazzard
tells the dramatic story of how a group of young, undereducated Black
men forged a new frontier of healthcare. He follows a rich cast of
characters that includes John Moon, an orphan who found his calling as a
paramedic; Peter Safar, the Nobel Prize-nominated physician who invented
CPR and realized his vision for a trained ambulance service; and Nancy
Caroline, the idealistic young doctor who turned a scrappy team into an
international leader. At every turn, Freedom House battled racism--from
the community, the police, and the government. Their job was grueling,
the rules made up as they went along, their mandate nearly
impossible--and yet despite the long odds and fierce opposition, they
succeeded spectacularly. Never-before revealed in full, this is a rich
and troubling hidden history of the Black origins of America's
paramedics, a special band of dedicated essential workers, who stand
ready to serve day and night on the line between life and death for
every one of us.
