They complete a timed, 100-foot aerial climb. They lift a 50-pound crate head-high 10 times, then carry it 100 yards. And for the first time ever at the FDNY Academy, the majority of these trainees are women.
We watched up close, as this most recent class worked to become rescue paramedics with EMS. Of the nine in the class, five were women this time around.
And it was no easy task to make it here to the elite program at Randalls Island. Seventy-eight paramedics applied. There was a written exam, a practical test, and an interview. And these 9 were the only ones who got in.
Trainees spend three weeks here — 120 hours of grueling training. Scenarios include racing into a “burning” high rise, rescuing a fellow FDNY member from a collapse and treating a patient stuck in a confined space.
Many of the drills are based on specific, real events that have taken place in New York City.
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