GREENSBORO, N.C. — First responders, like many of us, rode a rollercoaster of uncertainty in 2020. Leaders released new information and guidelines almost every day and first responders never really knew what they were walking into on any given call. 

What You Need To Know

  • First responders are reflecting on the challenges, changes and positive aspects of 2020

  • Call volume for paramedics dipped in the spring of 2020, but is now bouncing back

  • Many first responders are feeling more comfortable out in the field, now that they are fully vaccinated

“You didn’t know exactly what you were dealing with,” said Jason Crum, a paramedic in Guilford County. “What the symptoms were, what we needed to wear to try to be safe, what we needed to put on the patients to protect them from us and us from them, it was extremely stressful.”

More than a year after the original round of lockdowns and restrictions, some are reflecting on the challenges of 2020, but also the changes and silver linings that have popped up since then.

“It’s been very difficult,” Crum added. “We’ve been overworked and understaffed, especially with fire not running calls like they used to due to new protocols. We’re having to basically do more with less. And so it’s been pretty taxing on the service and all of us.”

Call volume in counties across our state has fluctuated quite a bit as well. Call numbers dipped by thousands in some places during April and Mat of 2020, at the height of restrictions.

Now, first responders say, unfortunately, they’re rising again, and they’re getting more calls for shootings, overdoses and other emergencies that were common before the pandemic.

Crum says he’s looking forward to a “new normal” but still isn’t sure exactly what it will look like.

“I don’t think anybody really could’ve expected anything like what all this turned out to be for everyone involved,” he said.