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- [Narrator] Major 
funding for this program

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was made possible by the 
Richard King Mellon Foundation,

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with additional major 
 funding from UPMC,

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and generous support 
 from these funders.

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Thank you.

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(funky bass music)

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- Back in the sixties,

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you stood a better 
 chance of surviving

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a gunshot wound in Vietnam,

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than you did a car accident

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in the city of Pittsburgh.

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- There weren't ambulances 
 as we think about them today.

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People called the police

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and hopefully the police 
would actually come

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and pick them up.

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- Relations between the police

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and the black community 
were oppressive.

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- I found my mom 
 laying on the floor.

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Two police officers showed up

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and said she was drunk,

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and they were not going to 
 transport her to the hospital.

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- You never knew how it 
was going to turn out.

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It was a gamble.

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- It was up to us at Freedom 
 House to provide that care

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that they were not gonna 
get from the police.

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- Freedom House 
  Ambulance Service

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really turned into an 
 incredible, incredible 
 success story.

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(sirens wailing)

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- We didn't realize that 
in the very backyard

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of the Hill District,

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you had the father of 
 CPR, Dr. Peter Safar.

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- Dr. Safar wanted to show

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that people they 
 marked unemployable,

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was really just 
waiting on opportunity.

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They were black,

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they were trained,

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and they were 
 keeping people alive.

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- This is my first big call

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and I'm going to save 
 this person's life.

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(chatter over radio)

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- [Radio] 7L6, 7L6.

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See the woman at

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294, Mill Street, apartment 207.

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(calm jazz music)

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- The high point 
 of Black Pittsburgh

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would've been in the 1940s.

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Pittsburgh was the center 
  of making armaments

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for the war effort,

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which funded the nightclubs,

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Black music,

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Black businesses.

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Really created an 
  era of prosperity.

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(funky jazz music)

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- In the evening,

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we watched the grownups

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go back and forth to the clubs.

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They were all very 
 spiffy, dressed up.

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It was quite a 
  joy to watch them.

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(upbeat jazz music)

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- Centre Avenue corridor 
 was filled with businesses.

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You never had to 
 leave for anything.

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- By the late 1950s, Pittsburgh 
was really prosperous.

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The mills were running

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but the mills produced 
 tremendous pollution.

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People were not interested 
  in living in a place

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that was so filthy.

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So the city set out to 
 do something about it

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and produced what's 
called the Renaissance.

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(slow piano music)

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- The word started going around

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that everybody was 
 gonna have to move.

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They were gonna demolish 
the neighborhood.

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I remember wondering, why?

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Where are we gonna move to?

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What's gonna happen 
 with our friends?

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It was a frightening experience.

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(somber piano music)

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They created a racially 
segregated housing plan,

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accommodating white families

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with government subsidies,

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that enabled them to 
 move to the suburbs.

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And they gave Black 
families public housing.

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As the civil rights 
movement was heating up,

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the conditions on the 
street were heating up.

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- The NAACP had appointed 
  a man named James McCoy

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to engage in action 
against discrimination.

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(funky bass music)

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McCoy established Freedom 
  House Enterprises.

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One big need that the Hill 
  had was medical services.

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- I can remember as a kid,

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anytime someone was sick,

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the big black 
 wagon would come up

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and they would just 
throw them in and leave.

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They used the same wagon 
to put dead bodies in,

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people they arrested,

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and they also used it 
 to transport people 
 in the community

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to the hospital.

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- In 1966, Mayor David Lawrence

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was speaking just two blocks 
 from Presbyterian Hospital

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and he had a massive 
 heart attack.

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By the time they got 
 him to the hospital,

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his brain had been damaged.

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He could not recover.

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- One of my friends 
 was very sick.

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Her mother called the ambulance, 
the ambulance didn't come.

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She ran her daughter,

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carried her daughter 
 from where she lived

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to Montefiore Hospital, to 
  take care of this child.

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- You had no alternative 
but to call the police.

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- Found my mom 
 laying on the floor.

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I picked her up, put her on 
 the sofa, called the police.

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I informed them that 
 she was not drunk,

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that she was sick, 
  she didn't drink,

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and they said, well, 
 it didn't matter,

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they weren't gonna take 
her to the hospital.

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I carried her down the stairs

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and I ended up putting her 
 in the back of a patty wagon.

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She died five days later 
 from a cerebral hemorrhage.

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- [Larry] This is where 
a man, Phil Hallen,

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really stepped in.

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He came into Pittsburgh,

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very aware of these inadequacies 
of underserved communities.

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- In 1967, I was one 
 of the co-founders

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of the Freedom House 
 Ambulance program.

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It grew out of a need in 
 Pittsburgh's Hill District,

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for medical care.

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A friend of mine, who 
 was the administrator

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at the university hospital,

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introduced me to Peter Safar.

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- As it turned out, 
Peter Safar was working

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in the hospital that night

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that David Lawrence 
 had been brought in.

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Peter and Eva were at 
a conference in Chicago

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when Elizabeth, who suffered 
 from lifelong asthma,

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became severely ill.

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She couldn't breathe.

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- Dr. Safar is known 
 as the father of CPR.

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- The experimental study 
you are about to see

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compared various methods 
  of artificial respiration.

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- Dr. Safar and his 
 colleague, James Elam,

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were doing some 
experiments that showed

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that if you put a tube 
 into someone's airway,

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that you could breathe for them.

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Peter found this to 
 be a fascinating idea,

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and then he conducted 
some other experiments,

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in which he gave, believe it 
 or not, curare to volunteers.

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Curare paralyzes the 
 breathing muscles,

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so they could not 
 breathe on their own.

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- First by selecting as 
subjects, men and women

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of various body types.

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Second, by anesthetizing and 
 curarizing these subjects,

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in order to simulate 
 limp asphyxia victims.

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Third, by having 
untrained lay personnel

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perform some of these methods.

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This boy scout will perform 
 mouth to airway breathing.

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He has some difficulty, 
but corrects himself.

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He was able to 
 adequately ventilate

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subjects weighing 
  up to 210 pounds.

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- Someone would, you know, 
  administer mouth to mouth

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and then you could see, 
they kept them alive.

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I could not imagine

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getting away with those 
  kinds of experiments now,

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even if people were 
 willing to volunteer.

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Very different time, but 
  very, very powerful proof

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that this was a technique 
 that could keep people alive.

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- Just about the time 
we were coming together,

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Safar was looking 
  for a mechanism

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in which he could take 
 CPR to the streets.

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(funky bass music)

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We literally drove up 
 and down the streets.

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We saw a group of people, 
  handed them a leaflet

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and said, here's 
who you contact.

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(funky bass music)

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- My name is George 
 McCary the third.

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When I signed up, I was 19.

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I was one of the 
 original class members

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of the Freedom House.

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Dr. Safar said, well,

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I'm gonna give you a 
 new chance in life.

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I'm gonna give you 
 something to learn.

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♪ To the rhythm ♪

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(funky bass music)

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♪ Woo ♪

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♪ To the rhythm ♪

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Then you had a chance 
 to take all that

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and you learned how to maneuver 
yourself on the vehicle.

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(siren wailing)

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- They learned how to 
do physical assessments.

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They learned to put 
 in endotracheal tubes,

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intravenous lines on the scene.

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They did everything.

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- By the time the 
  ambulances hit the street,

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these men had become 
the most highly trained.

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Literally, they were the only 
 trained EMTs in the country.

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- My first memory 
  of Freedom House

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was people coming

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to take you to the hospital, 
 that looked like you.

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That understood you.

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- My first runs that 
 I remember very well

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was the Fifth and Pride.

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There was a guy,

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he had had a heart attack.

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To be there, to see 
 the whole system,

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you know, for me,

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from me opening the airway,

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to them shooting drugs in them,

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to him getting any 
  kind of response.

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You know, it's amazing 
 to be on the team,

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from scratch.

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00:11:47,500 --> 00:11:50,333
(calm piano music)

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- Back in the sixties, 
  there was a war going on.

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I enlisted and took a bypass 
 test in the Air Force.

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00:12:01,133 --> 00:12:02,433
They made me a medic.

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00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,533
That's how I got involved 
  in emergency medicine.

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00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:10,066
When I got out of the Air Force,

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I came back to Pittsburgh.

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My aunt said, you need 
to go help these people,

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they got this thing going 
  on called Freedom House.

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There's this guy over 
there, Dr. Peter Safar.

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Said, that's the guy 
 that started CPR.

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She said, yeah, he's at Pitt.

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I said, really?

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Okay.

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- I joined Freedom House 
in the fall of 1972.

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I was raised in the 
  Hill, so I knew firsthand

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what type of response the 
  police were providing.

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You're living in a underserved, 
neglected area of the city,

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so you're not gonna get

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the proper response

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from the police.

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00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:58,433
(somber piano music)

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00:13:05,766 --> 00:13:09,333
- Freedom House was 
 providing a useful

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00:13:09,333 --> 00:13:11,666
medical emergency service.

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00:13:13,300 --> 00:13:15,666
That was something that 
everybody was proud of.

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- There was a sense 
 of pride on our part,

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as well as a sense of 
pride in the community.

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- There was times when we 
  would go to gunshot calls

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and the person that did the 
 shooting was still there.

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We didn't have any concern 
 about our own personal safety

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because of the reputation 
  that we had sustained

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in the neighborhood itself.

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Once you call Freedom House,

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you are calling someone 
 that's gonna make a difference

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00:13:44,900 --> 00:13:46,066
in this person's life.

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- Brought a sense of pride 
 and dignity to the community,

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to see young, Black 
 men that we knew,

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working on those wagons.

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(siren wailing)

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- At the very beginning,

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the police looked 
  at Freedom House

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00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:19,266
oftentimes as a threat 
 to their job security.

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There was times when 
 I was cursed out

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00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:24,433
by the police

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because I corrected 
 them on the treatment

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00:14:27,666 --> 00:14:30,366
they were providing to 
 a particular patient.

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00:14:30,366 --> 00:14:33,466
(somber piano music)

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- The cops knew what 
their limitations were.

258
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:43,333
It took time,

259
00:14:43,333 --> 00:14:46,433
but they recognized 
 the capability

260
00:14:46,433 --> 00:14:48,033
of what Freedom House could do.

261
00:14:50,500 --> 00:14:53,600
- In Squirrel Hill, a 
 young kid was struck

262
00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:55,700
by a Port Authority bus.

263
00:14:55,700 --> 00:14:58,233
The police arrived on the scene

264
00:14:58,233 --> 00:15:01,966
and they didn't know what to do,

265
00:15:01,966 --> 00:15:04,400
so one of the police officers

266
00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:06,500
requested Freedom House

267
00:15:06,500 --> 00:15:08,666
and the police dispatcher said

268
00:15:08,666 --> 00:15:11,633
I can't send them because 
  it's not their district.

269
00:15:11,633 --> 00:15:13,666
Police officer responded,

270
00:15:13,666 --> 00:15:15,300
well, you need someone out here

271
00:15:15,300 --> 00:15:17,333
that knows what the 
 hell they're doing.

272
00:15:19,533 --> 00:15:22,500
Fortunately, we were 
 able to provide care

273
00:15:22,500 --> 00:15:24,800
and transport them to 
 Children's Hospital.

274
00:15:28,766 --> 00:15:31,866
(upbeat funky music)

275
00:15:35,066 --> 00:15:37,333
- When you had 
  officers call you,

276
00:15:37,333 --> 00:15:38,500
you know you'd made it.

277
00:15:39,633 --> 00:15:42,133
- These systems 
  were being copied

278
00:15:42,133 --> 00:15:44,633
all over the country 
and all over the world.

279
00:15:44,633 --> 00:15:47,733
(upbeat funky music)

280
00:15:52,333 --> 00:15:54,633
- Peter and I went 
  to Los Angeles.

281
00:15:54,633 --> 00:15:56,966
There was a TV program 
 called Emergency.

282
00:15:56,966 --> 00:15:58,866
They contacted Dr. Safar

283
00:16:00,100 --> 00:16:03,000
and then we went to Germany.

284
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,733
We talked about how you 
  could train almost anyone,

285
00:16:06,733 --> 00:16:09,166
who was willing 
 and wanted to learn

286
00:16:09,166 --> 00:16:10,700
how to take care of somebody

287
00:16:10,700 --> 00:16:12,366
in a pre-hospital environment.

288
00:16:16,300 --> 00:16:19,533
- Despite Freedom 
  House's success,

289
00:16:19,533 --> 00:16:22,166
we had to overcome a 
 number of roadblocks.

290
00:16:24,100 --> 00:16:26,800
- We started to have 
 issues about money

291
00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:28,766
and availability of grants,

292
00:16:28,766 --> 00:16:31,666
so the need for diversification 
became an issue.

293
00:16:33,033 --> 00:16:34,900
- White males came in

294
00:16:34,900 --> 00:16:36,800
and got the training 
 and experience,

295
00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,400
and moved on to better 
  employment opportunities.

296
00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:42,000
And we were left there

297
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:46,500
as being their stepping stone 
 to bigger and better things.

298
00:16:46,500 --> 00:16:49,633
(somber piano music)

299
00:16:52,733 --> 00:16:54,366
Naturally, we doubted.

300
00:16:54,366 --> 00:16:59,200
Here's another person coming 
 in to increase their resume.

301
00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:02,366
What we didn't know at 
 that particular time,

302
00:17:02,366 --> 00:17:04,433
was that Nancy 
Caroline was different.

303
00:17:04,433 --> 00:17:07,533
(upbeat funky music)

304
00:17:08,933 --> 00:17:13,266
- She was indefatigable 
  in her commitment to this.

305
00:17:13,266 --> 00:17:16,033
She worked night and day.

306
00:17:16,033 --> 00:17:18,800
She rode the trucks,

307
00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:19,933
was on scene.

308
00:17:20,966 --> 00:17:23,500
It was an extraordinary 
kind of training

309
00:17:23,500 --> 00:17:24,833
that she made possible.

310
00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:28,733
- She was no taller 
 than a minute,

311
00:17:28,733 --> 00:17:31,200
but she was tough, 
  tough as nails.

312
00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:32,766
I never forget, we went 
to the Hill District.

313
00:17:32,766 --> 00:17:35,400
I said, "you better 
 stay here, Doc."

314
00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:36,266
She said, "get out the way."

315
00:17:37,433 --> 00:17:38,600
We got there

316
00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:40,300
and the guy said, what's 
she doing in here?

317
00:17:40,300 --> 00:17:42,200
She said, don't worry 
 about what I'm doing.

318
00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:43,866
Just get out of my way.

319
00:17:43,866 --> 00:17:46,533
(George laughs)

320
00:17:46,533 --> 00:17:49,400
- So she wasn't afraid, 
she wasn't scared.

321
00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:51,300
Going into people's homes,

322
00:17:51,300 --> 00:17:54,000
shooting galleries where 
 people were involving drugs.

323
00:17:54,833 --> 00:17:56,800
- She became part of us.

324
00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,300
She became someone 
  that we loved.

325
00:17:59,300 --> 00:18:01,500
She became someone 
  that we trusted.

326
00:18:01,500 --> 00:18:03,066
(upbeat funky music)

327
00:18:13,100 --> 00:18:15,866
- While she was teaching us,

328
00:18:15,866 --> 00:18:17,966
she said, we were teaching her.

329
00:18:21,633 --> 00:18:23,966
- I was the first 
 person in the country

330
00:18:23,966 --> 00:18:27,100
to do a tracheal 
intubation in the field.

331
00:18:27,100 --> 00:18:28,700
We had an elderly gentleman

332
00:18:28,700 --> 00:18:32,433
that was having 
 trouble breathing, and 
 he was unconscious.

333
00:18:32,433 --> 00:18:35,033
My partner and I 
 called Dr. Caroline.

334
00:18:35,033 --> 00:18:38,266
She immediately said, 
 intubate this patient

335
00:18:38,266 --> 00:18:40,133
and start an IV on him.

336
00:18:40,133 --> 00:18:43,033
At that particular time, I 
 thought she had lost her mind.

337
00:18:44,333 --> 00:18:46,866
My partner set 
 everything up for me

338
00:18:46,866 --> 00:18:49,966
and we intubated the 
 patient, successfully,

339
00:18:49,966 --> 00:18:51,233
on the first try.

340
00:18:52,366 --> 00:18:55,033
She was overjoyed

341
00:18:55,033 --> 00:18:58,433
and from that point 
 on, it was normal.

342
00:18:58,433 --> 00:19:01,300
(calm piano music)

343
00:19:19,900 --> 00:19:23,266
- Freedom House was not 
  particularly well received

344
00:19:23,266 --> 00:19:25,466
by the mayor at 
 the time, Flaherty,

345
00:19:25,466 --> 00:19:29,600
who had the idea that this was 
 something he had not created,

346
00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:32,533
he had no control over 
and really didn't like.

347
00:19:33,733 --> 00:19:35,966
- The politics became a problem.

348
00:19:37,033 --> 00:19:39,700
We wanted to expand 
 Freedom House.

349
00:19:39,700 --> 00:19:43,300
Dr. Safar was insistent 
that the programs

350
00:19:43,300 --> 00:19:45,700
that we were doing, 
would make a difference,

351
00:19:45,700 --> 00:19:47,833
and he had the 
statistics to prove it.

352
00:19:49,566 --> 00:19:52,066
- People in the more 
 affluent areas of Pittsburgh

353
00:19:52,066 --> 00:19:55,700
were getting a bit 
  frustrated that

354
00:19:55,700 --> 00:19:57,766
poor people in the Hill

355
00:19:57,766 --> 00:20:00,833
were getting better emergency 
 care than they were.

356
00:20:02,866 --> 00:20:05,633
Flaherty wanted to please 
 the people who voted for him.

357
00:20:09,133 --> 00:20:10,566
- We got a phone call

358
00:20:10,566 --> 00:20:13,166
to come see the mayor.

359
00:20:13,166 --> 00:20:15,166
I had a proposal prepared

360
00:20:15,166 --> 00:20:17,600
on how Freedom 
  House could expand

361
00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:19,433
throughout the entire city.

362
00:20:19,433 --> 00:20:22,333
The Mayor said, the 
reason why I called you,

363
00:20:22,333 --> 00:20:25,933
was because your ambulances 
 are making too much noise.

364
00:20:27,300 --> 00:20:31,500
He said, can you put a 
  bell on on the ambulances?

365
00:20:31,500 --> 00:20:32,500
A bell?

366
00:20:32,500 --> 00:20:34,666
You mean like an 
ice cream truck?

367
00:20:37,166 --> 00:20:39,700
He said, you leave 
 that proposal with me,

368
00:20:39,700 --> 00:20:41,166
I'll give it to my director.

369
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,500
That's when I knew it was 
  the beginning of the end.

370
00:20:49,900 --> 00:20:52,533
- As Freedom House's

371
00:20:52,533 --> 00:20:54,933
tenure was in question,

372
00:20:56,166 --> 00:20:59,733
we held a disaster drill 
in downtown Pittsburgh

373
00:20:59,733 --> 00:21:01,866
and it went off like clockwork.

374
00:21:01,866 --> 00:21:05,900
It was one of the crowning 
  moments of Freedom House.

375
00:21:06,833 --> 00:21:09,233
We had hoped that

376
00:21:09,233 --> 00:21:10,533
that particular moment

377
00:21:11,533 --> 00:21:14,566
would let the city leaders know

378
00:21:14,566 --> 00:21:17,933
how important it was to maintain

379
00:21:17,933 --> 00:21:20,466
Freedom House's 
  ambulance service.

380
00:21:20,466 --> 00:21:22,333
But you have to keep in mind,

381
00:21:22,333 --> 00:21:25,733
you're dealing with 
 a Black organization,

382
00:21:25,733 --> 00:21:27,000
and

383
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,366
the city leaders at 
 that particular time

384
00:21:31,433 --> 00:21:34,533
was not about to 
 allow that to happen.

385
00:21:39,833 --> 00:21:42,300
- I took the very last call,

386
00:21:42,300 --> 00:21:43,900
October 15th,

387
00:21:43,900 --> 00:21:45,333
1975.

388
00:21:46,900 --> 00:21:49,066
It was a lady who had fallen.

389
00:21:49,066 --> 00:21:50,933
Took her back to Presby

390
00:21:50,933 --> 00:21:54,333
and then we signed off 
 the air at 12 o'clock,

391
00:21:55,533 --> 00:21:57,200
and turned everything 
 over to the city.

392
00:22:01,700 --> 00:22:05,033
- Flaherty canceled a 
  contract between the city

393
00:22:05,033 --> 00:22:06,800
and Freedom House,

394
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,133
and started the City 
 of Pittsburgh EMS.

395
00:22:11,366 --> 00:22:14,000
It was a real slap in the face.

396
00:22:16,133 --> 00:22:19,666
- They had a gentleman by 
  the name of Glenn Cannon,

397
00:22:19,666 --> 00:22:23,266
who worked for me 
  at Freedom House.

398
00:22:23,266 --> 00:22:25,866
The mayor had hired Glenn

399
00:22:25,866 --> 00:22:28,333
to take on and 
  start running EMS.

400
00:22:29,833 --> 00:22:32,000
I tried to work out a deal

401
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:33,933
with the city,

402
00:22:33,933 --> 00:22:37,833
that they would take all of 
 the Freedom House personnel,

403
00:22:38,966 --> 00:22:40,733
but I didn't have 
 any control over it.

404
00:22:43,700 --> 00:22:47,800
- Unfortunately, we 
 entered into an environment

405
00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:50,700
that I would call 
survival of the fittest.

406
00:22:51,833 --> 00:22:54,166
We were tested

407
00:22:54,166 --> 00:22:55,800
on a weekly basis.

408
00:22:56,766 --> 00:22:58,900
Things that you already knew.

409
00:23:00,533 --> 00:23:02,466
- If you don't do 
  this, you're out.

410
00:23:02,466 --> 00:23:04,400
You don't pass, you're out.

411
00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,300
Everything is you're 
 out, you're out.

412
00:23:07,500 --> 00:23:09,033
I've been working this 
 shop for seven years.

413
00:23:09,033 --> 00:23:11,033
I don't know how many 
 lives I've saved.

414
00:23:12,133 --> 00:23:14,066
And all of a sudden 
I'm getting ultimatums?

415
00:23:16,100 --> 00:23:17,533
- It was a very, very

416
00:23:18,900 --> 00:23:20,300
difficult time for me,

417
00:23:21,333 --> 00:23:22,566
on a lot of levels.

418
00:23:23,900 --> 00:23:25,266
I know they'd 
 adopted the program

419
00:23:25,266 --> 00:23:27,533
that I'd put in 
  place, to expand.

420
00:23:28,966 --> 00:23:30,200
Didn't ask me to run it.

421
00:23:33,233 --> 00:23:34,166
It hurt a lot.

422
00:23:38,433 --> 00:23:41,166
- We entered into a program

423
00:23:41,166 --> 00:23:45,200
that was designed to 
systematically eliminate

424
00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:48,866
as many of Freedom 
 House's employees as 
 they possibly could.

425
00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,100
I had to experience calls 
  where the paramedics

426
00:23:53,100 --> 00:23:56,100
refused to transport 
 African Americans

427
00:23:56,100 --> 00:23:57,366
to the emergency room,

428
00:23:57,366 --> 00:23:59,900
because I didn't think 
 you were sick enough

429
00:23:59,900 --> 00:24:01,666
to ride in my vehicle.

430
00:24:04,233 --> 00:24:06,000
- It was right back

431
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,266
to what it was before.

432
00:24:09,933 --> 00:24:12,266
The people that took over

433
00:24:12,266 --> 00:24:14,733
didn't understand the culture

434
00:24:14,733 --> 00:24:15,833
of the community.

435
00:24:16,700 --> 00:24:18,500
They lost something

436
00:24:18,500 --> 00:24:19,966
when that happened.

437
00:24:19,966 --> 00:24:20,833
Yeah.

438
00:24:25,700 --> 00:24:28,366
- I knew of the barriers, 
  and the distractions,

439
00:24:28,366 --> 00:24:29,366
and the hurdles

440
00:24:29,366 --> 00:24:31,266
that I had to overcome.

441
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:34,933
That's what motivated 
me to continue my career

442
00:24:34,933 --> 00:24:37,166
when I went to the 
 City of Pittsburgh.

443
00:24:37,166 --> 00:24:38,700
I wanted to make a difference.

444
00:24:41,466 --> 00:24:42,733
At that particular time,

445
00:24:42,733 --> 00:24:45,366
I was responsible for 
 hiring and recruiting.

446
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:49,533
She walked into my office

447
00:24:49,533 --> 00:24:52,000
and said that she 
 was looking to work

448
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:53,366
for the City of Pittsburgh.

449
00:24:54,766 --> 00:24:57,166
- He said no one had 
  ever taken the initiative

450
00:24:57,166 --> 00:24:58,366
to do that before.

451
00:24:58,366 --> 00:25:00,000
He said, there's 
 something about you.

452
00:25:00,833 --> 00:25:03,033
- I kind of mentored her.

453
00:25:03,033 --> 00:25:04,533
From that point on,

454
00:25:05,566 --> 00:25:07,400
my head started to swell

455
00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:11,033
as she gradually rose 
 up through the ranks,

456
00:25:11,033 --> 00:25:13,000
to become the Deputy Chief.

457
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:14,766
- And that as Deputy Chief.

458
00:25:14,766 --> 00:25:17,233
- And that as Deputy Chief.

459
00:25:17,233 --> 00:25:19,366
- I will well and 
 faithfully discharge.

460
00:25:19,366 --> 00:25:20,600
- I will well and faithfully.

461
00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:23,633
I'm the first African American

462
00:25:23,633 --> 00:25:25,033
to hold this title.

463
00:25:26,233 --> 00:25:29,233
But for the shoulders

464
00:25:29,233 --> 00:25:31,566
of the giants that I stand on,

465
00:25:32,966 --> 00:25:36,066
who are the members of Freedom 
 House, I would not be here.

466
00:25:39,233 --> 00:25:40,966
Their hard work did pay off.

467
00:25:46,300 --> 00:25:49,566
- Freedom House brought 
the emergency room

468
00:25:49,566 --> 00:25:52,366
out of the hospital, 
onto the street corner.

469
00:25:53,700 --> 00:25:57,600
- There was a need for 
 us to take care of us,

470
00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:59,566
because no one else would.

471
00:26:01,133 --> 00:26:03,766
- Nobody was told 
  that they're drunk

472
00:26:03,766 --> 00:26:06,366
and we're not gonna take 
you to the hospital.

473
00:26:06,366 --> 00:26:07,666
That did not happen.

474
00:26:10,233 --> 00:26:14,466
- We shared a lot of happy 
 moments with the community,

475
00:26:14,466 --> 00:26:16,466
people in the hospital,

476
00:26:16,466 --> 00:26:18,633
doctors that said, thank you,

477
00:26:18,633 --> 00:26:20,200
I'm glad you were there.

478
00:26:22,266 --> 00:26:24,266
- We made a difference.

479
00:26:24,266 --> 00:26:26,533
We took care of people.

480
00:26:26,533 --> 00:26:29,433
People who are alive 
 today, because of us.

481
00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:36,433
- That is the legacy of Freedom 
House Ambulance Service.

482
00:26:37,133 --> 00:26:39,733
(upbeat piano music)

483
00:26:44,533 --> 00:26:47,666
(somber piano music)

484
00:27:09,033 --> 00:27:12,500
(somber music continues)

485
00:27:38,566 --> 00:27:43,600
The foundation of every 
 EMS service in this country

486
00:27:44,700 --> 00:27:45,833
began at Freedom House 
 Ambulance Service.

487
00:27:46,700 --> 00:27:50,433
(upbeat instrumental music)