We asked the FireRescue1 audience, “Should every firefighter be required to spend time working on an ambulance?”
In more than 500 responses, FireRescue1 readers debated whether EMS experience should be a requirement for firefighters, a career option or avoided altogether. Responses explored everything from fire-based EMS and third-service models to cross-training, patient care and whether today’s fire service can afford to separate firefighting from EMS.
Check out the responses below. Have something to add? Email editor@firerescue1.com with your thoughts.
Yes: The case for EMS training
Many commenters began with the basic scope of the job. In departments where firefighters routinely respond to medical calls, readers questioned how members could be fully prepared without ambulance experience.
Several said EMT certification should be the minimum. Others argued that firefighters should understand patient care because they may arrive before an ambulance or encounter medical emergencies during fires, rescues and other incidents.
- “Yes, fire and EMS should be combined. Everyone should be cross trained to excel in any emergency role.”
- “Absolutely, EMT certification at a minimum.”
- “Being a firefighter without basic medical abilities (EMR+) has never made sense to me.”
- “Most fire departments won’t hire you without an EMT license. I thought that was common knowledge; firefighters always show up first.”
- “Absolutely, over 60% of our calls are EMS.”
- “A majority of calls are EMS related. The fire service needs to adapt to the changes.”
No: Fire and EMS as separate career paths
The strongest opposition came from readers who viewed firefighting and EMS as distinct professions that each require a different skill set. Others worried that forcing firefighters to work on an ambulance could create disengaged providers and negatively affect patient care.
Several commenters challenged the premise by asking whether EMTs and paramedics should also be required to spend time on fire apparatus.
- “I’m big on keeping fire and EMS two different roles. I’m not about fighting fires, it’s not my thing, and I know a lot of firefighters that want nothing to do with a medical call. If you can staff an ambulance with people that actually want to be there, why force people to do a job they don’t want to do that’ll bleed into patient care?”
- “No, EMS and fire should be separate entities entirely.”
- “I’m a medic in a third service. And, no. They fight fires. We treat patients.”
- “No. Should every paramedic spend time putting out fires or cutting people out of cars?”
- “That’s as silly as saying every EMT should spend time in fire school and riding the pumper.”
- “Should plumbers spend time working as a carpenter?”
- “Nope we need to split the two. They are very different career fields.”
- “No, just give them a few ride-along shifts. And take EMS out of the fire service and make it a separate, independent third service.”
- “No. Why should they be made to add to the vast sights/sounds they have to store in their memories for life. If they wish to expand their skills at the EMS level, then yes. If not, no.”
- “No, some people are just not made for EMS.”
- “Mandatory? No, unless it is your full-time job and you are required.”
Ride along training vs. EMS rotations
Many commenters touched on the difference between completing an EMT course and repeatedly caring for patients, with some advocating that firefighters pull full EMS rotations. Others supported a limited number of shifts, ride-alongs or probationary assignments before firefighters move into other roles.
- “If you want to be proficient in emergency medical care, you should absolutely work on an ambulance. The experience you get spending more time with patients cannot be understated. I spent six years working on an ambulance for a city before moving over to the fire department and I would not trade those years of experience for a second.”
- “Usually when the ambulance doors close, what happens inside becomes a mystery. I think all firefighters should spend some time in the back, so they have an idea as to what happens when the doors close.”
- “Yes, because after doing ride time, they will appreciate the job that EMS does and appreciate their own job even more!”
- “Yes, it is an eye-opening experience, and all facets of a department should be experienced.”
- “Maybe a ride along, but no, not all are cut out for EMS.”
- “Ride along and then ask whether the firefighter wants to train to be an EMT.”
- “I’m a fire guy but I think one shift a month on a box keeps you from getting rusty.”
- “Not if they’re an agency that doesn’t transport. Now, does being on a box usually make you a better medic? Yes. Usually. Not always.”
- “My vote would be to require recruits to obtain their EMT Basic in recruit school, and to acquire 50 shifts as a third person on an EMS unit before they are eligible for promotion to senior firefighter or AO.”
- “If the fire department has EMS training and responds to EMS calls, then yes, they should be on an ambulance for a full shift at least once for hands-on training on how an ambulance works.
Expanding EMS training to ED personnel
The discussion also saw many commenters describe fire/EMS as interconnected parts of an all-hazards response system, in cooperation with area hospitals. A number of commenters reversed the question, suggesting that EMS clinicians, emergency department staff and dispatchers could benefit from greater exposure to other parts of the response system.
- “Fire and EMS are both about saving lives. Any firefighter that doesn’t give their EMT skills and knowledge as much effort as their fire training has lost touch with why the job exists in the first place. The national average for actual working fire calls is less than 5%. Do better.”
- “The fire service is an all-hazard, EMS organization that also fights fires. More than 80% of all responses are EMS related. The real difficulty is being good at both demanding, non-parallel skills.”
- “Knowing and understanding each other’s roles can only benefit the patient’s outcome.”
- “Firefighters should also spend time in dispatch centers to see that we don’t just sit and answer their radio calls, we are doing other things at the same time.”
- “I also think ER nurses and doctors should do ride alongs so they see what it’s like in the field.”
- “All doctors should also spend time on rescue units just so they can see an emergency firsthand.”
🔥 Your 360 Takeaway
The responses did not produce one standard that would fit every fire department. Instead, they highlighted several recurring considerations:
- Call volume matters. Readers from EMS-heavy departments were more likely to see ambulance experience as a core job requirement.
- Certification ≠ experience. Many commenters said an EMT certification establishes baseline knowledge, while regular patient contact develops practical ability.
- Limited exposure may offer a compromise. Ride-alongs, third-person shifts, probationary rotations and periodic ambulance assignments appeared repeatedly as alternatives to permanent dual-role staffing.
