Eons ago, 1971 to be exact, when you could (and I did) be certified as a National Registry EMT by written test and practical examination, I was one of the 17 founding members of an urban Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Envision high rise buildings and 5 converging highways, pre common use of seatbelts and purpose designed vehicle crash zones and collapsible steering columns. Prior to us, police just picked up victims and beat it to a hospital. To maintain a sub 4 minute response time, the 3 person duty crew was in uniform, in the Ambulance building. We didn't stay inexperienced for very long. We ran about over a thousand real emergency calls a year. The membership rapidly expanded, thank heaven.

We found our biggest challenge was a response to an unknown event in a high rise building, not all of which had elevator control overrides. Standard practice was 2 crew members to go up, one to stay with the rig to bring up extras. The problem was to have the first two carry enough equipment to deal with life threatening issues, light enough to run with, up several flights of stairs or on the 30th floor, even if an elevator was available, because extras would take precious time to arrive. Standard kits in ambulances at that time were built around heavy tool boxes. Purpose built backpacks & shoulder bags were unknown. I designed a multi purpose kit , from an air traveler's type shoulder bag , to carry trauma supplies ,bandages/ tape, triangulars,sterile saline, zephyrin chloride ,choke forceps(pre-Heimlich), wire ladder splints,"turkey baster" bulb syringe+ small barrel body with makeshift shortly tube cathprovided basic suction, plastic oral airways ,burn sheet, cord clamps & bulb syringe, activated charcoal, BP cuff, stethoscope, run sheet-vitals pad and penlights to hold in your mouth if there was no power. That kit weighed about 12-15 lb.s. Add to that a portable two-way radio and a positive pressure resuscitator connected to a D size O2 bottle in a hard case and we were ready for most life threatening issues. Anything else we needed could be called up later, including the gurney.

The gurney issue, in small elevators was a major problem. We later solved it by working directly with the Ferno Washington company to design and build the first or one of the first ambulance gurneys that could raise the back and drop the foot, to become a chair. It also had early auto dropping and locking wheel legs. Now this is all industry standard and commonplace.


As the region became more urban I assisted other neighboring corps to assemble similar kits. I loved doing this and over the years I developed additional modular kits for our and other corps. I was fortunate to later be able to trade ideas with a very few like minded volunteer designers.

In my 5 years of service, I responded to hundreds of serious car accidents, shootings, stabbings, poisonings, heart attacks/ strokes, jumpers, floaters, CPR calls (3 sucessful resuscitations, dozens of failed attempts) , a forceps choke save on an unconscious woman & other traumas . I even delivered a baby on the narrow floor of an apartment hallway! Thankfully all went well with that. I "retired " as a Life Member when I graduated Law School. Many of my colleagues became ER doctors, nurses, oral surgeons, medial techs, engineers & other professionals.

I return to my corps ever so often to ride as an observer and of course I peruse the kits. They haven't changed that much, except they've added Narcan, anaphylaxis auto injectors & pulse Ox meters.

I still design and build first aid kits, compact survival kits & GHBs for family and friends, especially for their kids going to college abroad or on long hiking trips. I have even received some compliments from pros in the field, who examined my kits.

I've had a pretty sucessful career as an attorney. But of all the things I have ever accomplished, the two things I am most proud of are my kids and my volunteer ambulance service.