WQED Specials

Freedom House Ambulance: The First Responders

In 1967, Pittsburgh's inner city produced America’s first EMT service. Comprised solely of Black men and women recruited from the city’s Hill District neighborhood, the paramedics of Freedom House Ambulance became trailblazers in providing pre-hospital and CPR care. reedom House was initially conceived to respond to the needs of Pittsburgh’s African American community during emergencies.