Freedom House Ambulance: How EMS Has Roots in Black History

Before there was EMS as we know it, there was the Freedom House Ambulance in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The service was born in a predominantly Black neighborhood known as the Hill District in response to insufficient services related to medical emergencies. When help was needed, police were often dispatched but were not trained nor equipped to deal with many situations. Complaints of discrimination, and that medical emergencies were not taken seriously, also circulated.

Dr. Peter Safar, also known as the "father of CPR," began to recruit members of the community and train them in emergency medical care, bringing the emergency room onto the street corner for the first time. Trainees completed rigorous academic and in-hospital education, followed by nine months of field training.

"My first memory of Freedom House was people coming to take you to the hospital that looked like you, that understood you," Brenda Tate, a lifelong Hill District resident, told WQED in Pittsburgh.

Freedom House Ambulance responded to its first emergency call in June 1968, becoming the first trained EMTs in the nation. In its first year of operation, Freedom House Ambulance responded to 6000 calls.

Over time, and under the guidance of Dr. Nancy Caroline, Freedom House paramedics also became the first in the country to intubate a patient on the street, administer Narcan to reverse an overdose, and deliver an electric shock to a person's heart in the field.

"The cops knew what their limitations were. It took time, but they recognized the capability of what Freedom House could do," said Mitchell Brown, the Operations Manager for Freedom House and a resident of the Hill District who had been directly impacted by the lack of proper emergency medical service.

As other city residents took note of the vital service Freedom House Ambulance was providing to the Hill District, requests for Freedom House started to roll in from other parts of the city.

Although Freedom House was willing to expand to become a citywide service, then-mayor Peter Flaherty moved to end the program, doing so in response to complaints from more affluent constituents who were upset that the poorer, Black neighborhoods were receiving better services.

City of Pittsburgh EMS emerged shortly afterward with only a few members of Freedom House Ambulance coming aboard— and many of them ultimately driven out of the service.

The story of the Freedom House Ambulance showcases the innovations that emerge when a community comes together to address systemic problems, but it also highlights inequities that still haven't been resolved today.

Hear the story of the Freedom House Ambulance as told by the people who pioneered it by streaming the video below. This story is also captured in the book American Sirens by Kevin Hazzard, available at Madison Public Library. And visit the Heinz History Center website to learn more.

The Madison Fire Department strives to provide the best emergency medical care to all members of our community. EMS services across the nation, and all who have benefited from EMS service, owe a debt of gratitude to the people who persevered to create Freedom House Ambulance.