No time to wait: Firefighters turn to tactical gear amid new reality
SACRAMENTO – The deadly Roseville shooting on Thursday highlighted some of the dangers firefighters and paramedics can face as they respond to violent crimes.
Mass casualty drills allow first responders to train for an active shooter incident.
"We know going into something like this [that] there's a potential for many lives to be affected," said Capt. Parker Wilbourn with Metro Fire of Sacramento.
Most fire agencies still stage outside the danger area until officers stabilize the threat.
"If we don't do that and we just go rushing in, we have a potential for our members to potentially become victims – and we're going to need additional resources to come and help them," Wilbourn said.
But sometimes crews have no time to wait.
Thursday's hostage situation in Roseville happened right outside a fire station.
"We still have active gunfire all around the station," a firefighter could be heard saying on police radio chatter captured during the incident.
And in 2019, a Davis Fire engine was struck by four bullets the night police officer Natalie Corona was killed.
Now more firefighters are preparing to put themselves in the line of fire.
Sacramento Metro Fire has a team of paramedics that are called out alongside the SWAT team when there's an active shooter. The fire crews are equipped with the same ballistic helmets and bulletproof vests that police wear.
"They train together. They really are a strategic unit," Wilbourn said.
And just this week, the Fairfield Fire Department practiced using its tactical equipment during a mass shooting drill.
Roseville Fire says they used similar gear to rescue the California Highway Patrol officer shot outside their station.
Firefighters know it can be a dangerous job and they are doing what they can to mitigate risks.
"We are no good to the public if we are becoming victims ourselves," Wilbourn said.
Metro Fire says its tactical medics respond to about 80 SWAT calls a year.