<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=Revision:%20Pittsburgh/First Ambulance service - Freedom House Ambulance Service - Wikipedia%20-%2020260302210338" style="border:1px solid #555; padding:4px 12px; border-radius:4px; color:#a89ee8; text-decoration:none; font-size:0.9em; background-color:#2a2a2a;">📩 Submit a Revision/Addition</a> ![[f5674c890f223aa8dda76fd5641a5770.mp4]] - [Article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_House_Ambulance_Service) - [Talk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Freedom_House_Ambulance_Service) **Freedom House Ambulance Service** was the first [emergency medical service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_medical_services "Emergency medical services") in the United States to be staffed by [paramedics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramedic "Paramedic") with medical training beyond basic first aid.^{<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-JEMS-1"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></a>} ^{<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-99PI-2"><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></a>} Founded in 1967 to serve the predominantly Black [Hill District](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_District_\(Pittsburgh\) "Hill District (Pittsburgh)") of [Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh,_Pennsylvania "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"), it was staffed entirely by African Americans.^{<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-Empowerment-3"><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></a>} ^{<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-Code-4"><span>[</span>4<span>]</span></a>} Freedom House Ambulance Service broke medical ground by training its personnel to previously unheard-of standards of emergency medical care for patients en route to hospitals.^{<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-Empowerment-3"><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></a>} ^{<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-Atavist-5"><span>[</span>5<span>]</span></a>} ^{<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-Forgotten-6"><span>[</span>6<span>]</span></a>} The paramedic training and ambulance design standards pioneered in the Freedom House Ambulance Service would set the standard for emergency care nationally and even internationally.^{<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-99PI-2"><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></a>} ^{<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-Atavist-5"><span>[</span>5<span>]</span></a>} Despite its successes, the ambulance service was closed eight years after it began operating.^{<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/#cite_note-Atavist-5"><span>[</span>5<span>]</span></a>}