CARLISLE, Pa. — It’s a literal and figurative extra layer of security.
"It's unfortunate that you have to account for that now in society but we're doing it," said Nathan Harig, assistant chief of administration at Cumberland Goodwill EMS.
Bulletproof vests are now part of the uniform for the ambulance company's paramedics.
“They are sized to each individual crew member and new crew members will annually go through sizing so they can get one that protects them as best as possible," explained Harig.
Nearly 50 vests were recently delivered to Cumberland Goodwill. They were paid for by a $49,000 grant.
Harig says the decision wasn’t made lightly.
“It came down to [in] the past four years, we’ve seen a steady rise in the number of active shooting incidents, incidents of violence, mass protests, it really became prudent that we make sure we’re reacting to what’s changing in society," he explained.
Harig says it's important to him that they give crew members the tools to stay safe in any situation.
“In reality, it’s knocking on someone’s door at 3 a.m. because their medical alarm went off but they’re not expecting anyone because it was an accident, those are the situations we’ve seen elsewhere paramedics and EMTs get shot," he said.
The vests are stocked in each ambulance but the decision to actually wear one is being left up to each individual paramedic for now.
Harig says company policy strongly suggests certain times when all EMTs should have one on.
“We just want them to be safe," he added.
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