A Firefighter was killed by violence today

In the space of months, two of the "good guys" have gotten shot in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Patrick Bierman, a paramedic from Metro East, was wounded while driving an ambulance a few months back, but is back on the job. The firefighter who was shot today wasn't so lucky. He was killed by a gunman this morning while responding to a vehicle fire in Maplewood.

When a cop gets shot it is horrifying and distressing, but you aren't truly surprised. That's why they wear Kevlar vests. Even small town department personnel wear them because of the psychos out there. However, except in the deepest, worst parts of the inner city, firefighters and medics are rarely the targets of gun violence. I never, even when responding to the worst domestic dispute or fight, feared for my life. I never wondered if some nut with a gun had me in his/her sights. The idea of wearing Kevlar to do my job as an EMT never even crossed my mind. ( I was an EMT on the Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Emergency Ambulance Service in the Chicago suburbs for five years.)

So why in the name of God have two of the heroes serving the citizens of the St. Louis metropolitan area been shot!!! Today's victim responded to a fire that turned out to be a trap. One set specifically to snare the people who came to protect lives and property. The person who shot this firefighter set a vehicle on fire. When the responders got out of the truck at the scene, Ryan Hummert (all of 22 years old) was shot. He died from his wounds. Soon afterwards, the house that police believe the shots came from caught (or more likely, was set) on fire. It is believed that the gunman died soon before or in the fire.

I cannot even begin to imagine how hard it would be to fight fires, respond to vehicle accidents, or treat patients wearing a Kevlar vest. But in times like this one wonders if the days of firefighters and medics being able to move freely and unencumbered are numbered. All first responders choose their jobs, paid or unpaid, because they care about people and want to help. Police officers know up front that violence is an inherent part of the job. They are trained and armed for this type of situation. But firefighters and medics are not trained nor prepared for situations where they are fired upon. Sure, the occasional patient may try to fight, bite, pull hair, etc. but we are trained to handle that and usually have a crew or partner available to aid us. But dodging bullets wasn't part of my original training in 1993, nor was it covered when I recertified in 2006. If there was any chance of violence, we were instructed by dispatch to hold off and wait for the police to secure the scene. A routine call, such as a vehicle fire, isn't one that would require that kind of caution. And the medic who was shot a couple months ago was doing nothing more than driving an ambulance down the interstate when he was shot. How in the hell do you guard against that? What, should responders have to wait for a police ok before even the most routine call? While wearing Kevlar? That's insane, not to mention the strain that this would put on the police and municipal budgets.

Ok, I know I'm all over the place here and not making a whole lot of sense. I'm just really upset. My deepest condolences go out to Firefighter Hummert's family and friends. And to all of the firefighter, medic, and police brothers and sisters who worked alongside him. I worry about our world, where those who choose to serve their fellow citizens are made into unarmed targets. I'm not a gun control advocate or a peace lover by any means, but today even I am questioning the results of the culture of violence so prevalent in our society. Rest in peace Ryan, you will be missed. Thank you to all of you who choose to serve your fellow humans.