Interested in FDNY EMS? The New York City Dept. of Citywide Administrative Services will be opening up filing for the "Emergency Medical Specialist - EMT" civil service exam next week. The filing period will be 7/7/10 - 7/30/10.

This exam is opened very rarely, so if you are interested you should definitely sign up now.

More details about the exam and how to apply will be available at the New York City Dept. of Citywide Administrative Services site once the filing period has begun. You can also learn more about the FDNY hiring process on this forum.

Not an EMT yet? Learn more about our EMT training program - you can still sign up for an EMT-B training class that starts this summer!

New York, NY - 77 new Emergency Medical Technicians joined the the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Emergency Medical Service on January 27, 2010.

They were part of the Trainee Program, which involves a 14-week, two-part training program. In the first component of the program, participants earn New York State EMT Certification. Then participants move into the FDNY EMS Academy at Fort Totten, Queens, to learn FDNY policies and procedures. Upon graduation, they are promoted to FDNY Emergency Medical Technician.

"Today you are transforming from bystanders into life savers," Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano told the group at graduation. "You have chosen a rewarding job, one that lets you make a difference every day."

Chief of EMS John Peruggia added, "I'm proud to be a paramedic. Where else can you go to work and know that you are making a difference in someone's life?"

The new EMTs will be assigned to units throughout the city.

To learn more about becoming a New York State certified EMT, visit http://www.emergencycareny.com/emt_training.html

Brooklyn, NY -- This month's HealthLeaders magazine includes an interview with EMT James "Rocky" Robinson, founder of Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the nation's first minority-run volunteer ambulance corps. BSVAC is the busiest volunteer ambulance service for its size in the nation, answering over 100 calls per month with an average response time of less than 4 minutes. BSVAC has received numerous honors, including: Robin Hood Foundation Hero of the Year Award, New York City Hero Award, American Institute for Public Service Jefferson Award, Points of Light Award (awarded by President George Bush), and Maxwell House Hero Search Award.

BSVAC started off in 1988 with two volunteers who responded to emergencies on foot, Robinson told HealthLeaders:

"We were an ambulance corps without an ambulance. We didn't have any funding, we were in an abandoned house--but know what we had? We had skills, we had tennis shoes, we had trauma bags, and we had radios. And when we heard that someone in the community was shot or stabbed, we would literally run and get there. Even though we couldn't remove the patient, we could stop the bleeding."

BSVAC is also known as "Save a Life Rescue Corps." Learn how to save lives by becoming an EMT - visit http://www.emergencycareny.com/emt_training.html to find out how to sign up for Emergency Care Program's EMT-B training course.

Already an EMT-B? To volunteer, call BSVAC at (718) 453-4617.