National First Responder’s Day

What is National First Responder’s Day?

National First Responder’s Day is a day to honor and celebrate everything that our first responders do for us throughout the year. First responders protect, serve, and risk their lives for citizens every day, and National First Responder’s Day was established to make sure they are appreciated. This day isn’t just to recognize all their hard work in keeping us safe, but it’s also to recognize the kinds of struggles they face, the sacrifices they make, and the amount of commitment it takes to be an essential part of our communities.

Why do we have a National First Responder’s Day?

We celebrate First Responder’s Day to honor the men and women that put their lives on the line and respond to emergencies to protect those in their communities. Celebrating first responders and the service they give is very important and carries much significance to them and their families. Their bravery and courage ensures that medical emergencies and other types of emergencies are taken care of in a professional manner which keeps us relying on them each day. They are a vital aspect of our communities and work hard to protect and defend the people they serve.

When is National First Responder’s Day?

National First Responder’s Day is on October 28^th every year and started in 2017 to honor and thank first responders for everything that they do. Although it isn’t an official holiday yet, it is important that we honor the men and women who put their lives on the line every day and help keep us safe. October 28 is just a day to remind us that we should be thanking and appreciating our first responders whenever we can.

What are the types of first responders?

First responders are individuals who have been trained to assist and take charge during an emergency and are the first to arrive to the scene when something happens. There are few different types of first responders that we honor on this late October day. Policemen and women, dispatchers, EMT’s and paramedics, as well as firefighters, nurses, and the armed forces are all people that we celebrate and honor for putting their lives at risk for our wellbeing and safety.

Whether it’s a global pandemic, a terrorist attack, or a domestic violence emergency, all of these people play an essential role in making sure everyone is safe while they provide service to those in trouble. If we didn’t have these selfless individuals serving our communities, it would be very difficult to keep order and peace in the world. Different types of first responders have signature colors on flags to distinguish them from one another. Here are the flag colors that correspond to the types of first responders:

Armed Forces: Green

Dispatch: Yellow

Firefighters: Red

Nurses: Red and white

Paramedics/EMT’s: Blue and white

Police: Blue

What are the roles of first responders?

First responders are almost always the first ones to arrive to an emergency or care for the individuals involved in the emergency. Here is a list of major first responder groups and a description of their duties:

Armed Forces
The Armed Forces are called for big emergencies such as natural disasters, global pandemics, terrorist attacks, or other large emergencies that local and state first responders cannot accommodate for. The armed forces are an integral part in protecting citizens when disaster strikes due to the large number of members that respond. These individuals and their families sacrifice so much to keep us safe, and it’s important that we honor them on this day.

Dispatchers
When there is an emergency and people call 911, dispatchers are the first to assess the problem and send out the correct people to handle the situation. They are trained to stay calm, cool, and collected in order to listen to the caller and identify the correct personnel that are needed. They have to be able to multi-task, keeping the caller on the phone while sending help, looking at various maps, writing down information and tracking the caller from their pin-point location all while communicating this to the emergency personnel.

Firefighters
Firefighters respond to much more than structure fires and need to have all the necessary safety equipment for any type of emergency in the fire trucks. They are trained to help in a medical emergency and transport injured and sick individuals to the hospital and be an additional aid to the paramedics. Along with transports, they also rescue people from fires, floods, and other types of natural disasters. Firefighters can help treat injuries and assist the paramedics with procedures and basic life saving techniques like CPR. While others are running from the scene, firefighters are running towards it to save others.

Nurses
Nurses are some of the most caring, empathetic, and heroic first responders. After an injured or sick patient arrives via ambulance to the hospital, nurses take over immediately and are very helpful in saving people’s lives while also communicating what is going on. They work long and tireless hours to care for their patients and are valued members of society. We honor them today because they deserve to be recognized for all that they do to keep us healthy and cared for.

Paramedics & EMT’s
Paramedics and EMT’s are medically trained to perform lifesaving procedures and prevent injuries or other types of illness from getting worse. They ride on the ambulance with the patient and perform any procedures that are needed before arriving to the hospital. They use different types of rescue gear to help them and have certifications such as in CPR and the Heimlich. They can give an IV and do other necessary medical tasks to help save the person’s life while in transit to the hospital. Once arriving to the hospital, paramedics and EMT’s are trained to give the medical team that is taking over a rundown of everything that occurred to ensure that the patient gets cared for properly.

Police
When they aren’t assisting in a medical emergency or a violence emergency, police officers are keeping the roads safe, performing investigations, interviewing witnesses and suspects, documenting crime scene details, patrolling the streets, and so much more. Police officers put their lives on the line for their communities and run towards danger while many run in the opposite direction. They do so much to protect their communities and deserved to be appreciated every day.

How can we celebrate and honor the first responders in our lives and communities?

Even if you don’t know a first responder personally, there is so much to do to celebrate them today and every day. Here are some ways in which you can honor them that display acts of kindness and thanks them for keeping us safe and protecting the community:

• Simply saying “thank you for your service” when you pass by a first responder in public is a kind gesture to make and will make them feel appreciated.
• Sending or bringing things into their place of work such as snacks, baked goods, a meal, a gift card to a restaurant, or even paying for their coffee are great ways to show appreciation. Oftentimes, first responders don’t get a dedicated mealtime during their shift because if emergencies arise, nothing can hold them back from attending the emergency.
• Writing a letter to the chief, or person in charge of the group of first responders you wish to thank and letting them know that their employees are supported and are appreciated by their community.
• Staying safe and following the rules of the road can prevent first responders from risking their lives to help us. Check to make sure there is no risk of a structure fire before leaving the house, follow the commands of police personnel if you are pulled over, and be honest with your paramedics, EMT’s and nurses so they can care for you correctly.
• Raise money for natural disaster or pandemic funds that first responders work with when those situations arise. It’s important that they get financial support from the community to help offset the cost of materials and items that will be needed in case of a bigger kind of emergency.
• Raise awareness on social media of the good things first responders do. This can show others that they do everything they can to protect us, care for us, and keep us safe in all types of conditions.

Thank You from W.B. Mason

On this National First Responder’s Day, W.B. Mason wants to thank all first responders for the service they provide to their communities. First responders everywhere do so much and risk their lives to help others, so we wish them a happy National First Responder’s Day this October 28.