A Day in My Life as a Central Park EMT
A first responder’s guide to using Citizen to keep NYC safe
On a typical day in Central Park, Emergency Medical Technicians are likely to hear one specific phrase over and over again:
“BSI, scene safety!”
This expression, reminding us to keep strong situational awareness while ensuring the health and well-being of those experiencing trauma, is drilled into the head of first responders on day one of emergency response training.
Maintaining this heightened sense of awareness with a comprehensive plan to maximize preparedness is the most important element when responding to the scene of an emergency.
This process starts the moment a first responder learns of an incident and continues until the very end; every moment in-between should involve ongoing evaluations of their surroundings, and constant adjustments to ensure their own personal safety. A first responder cannot be of help to anyone if their own safety has been compromised.
There is no such thing as being too prepared, especially when responding to an emergency incident.
As a volunteer EMT, I constantly strive to be as prepared as possible, and to have as many tools and resources available to me whenever possible.
Getting clear, accurate information for an emergency call is often a challenge. The agency that I volunteer with, Central Park Medical Unit (CPMU), has a particular disadvantage; though the Unit is a 911-participating ambulance service, CPMU is not directly dispatched to incidents.
Instead, our crews monitor up to 9 portable radios simultaneously to gather information about incidents within our coverage area.
In these instances, it is especially important for crew members to be as cautious and resourceful as possible.
One of the resources that volunteer EMTs have started utilizing is Citizen.
This app provides users with real-time notifications and updates on emergency incidents within close proximity. The concept of opening an app on a smartphone and viewing a list of real-time emergency incidents happening nearby may have seemed far-fetched in the past, but Citizen has made it a reality.
On several occasions, a CPMU crew has been able to gather critical information about an incident in real-time after a crew member received a Citizen notification on their personal phone containing more details about the situation, often before the incident was broadcasted directly over any EMS radio channel.
One of the most unique aspects of Citizen is the way it compiles a multitude of agencies and channels to inform the app’s real-time incident updates. The fast-paced nature of emergency situations and communications sometimes makes it difficult for multiple agencies to share information about a developing incident, but Citizen effectively streamlines these communications in one place. This is tremendously useful for first responders who rely on fast and accurate information to guide their next movements.
An implicit element of scene safety is approaching an incident with a certain degree of skepticism about the validity of the information reported to 911. In a sense, every emergency incident is sort of like a puzzle; it is up to first responders to make sense of the situation and take advantage of as many resources as possible to best serve their community while simultaneously protecting themselves. Citizen could potentially be that missing piece of the puzzle that helps a responder make sense of an uncertain situation.
Maximizing situational awareness should not be unique to first responders. Volunteering as an EMT has given me a front-row seat to all sorts of situations that could pose a threat to public safety, and has emphasized how Citizen can be a beneficial tool for everyone — making a community a safer place for residents, workers, and the people who serve it.
Citizen instantly sends safety alerts directly to your phone whenever significant crime or emergencies happen near you.
