Madison (WI) firefighters on every shift will have bulletproof vests assigned to them for added protection on any calls posing a higher risk for gunfire.
The new gear — totaling 90 vests, weighing 20 pounds a piece and lined with heavy ceramic plates to stop rounds from handguns to high-powered rifles — will be required for all Madison Fire Department personnel responding with police to provide medical help where bullets are or might be flying.
It’s part of the new reality of rendering aid in a society increasingly marred by mass shootings, often defined as four or more killings or attempted killings in one incident.
And it reflects a shift in first-responder policy that puts saving the lives of injured people ahead of guaranteed safety for the emergency personnel who try to do it.
