Originally Posted by
tom911
Is that the case in Canada? It's definitely not the case here in the Bay Area, as an EMT cannot provide the same level of medical care as a paramedic. We have three firefighters on our engines, two of which are EMT's, but only one who is a paramedic.
There are different levels of EMT's in the United States. EMT-A (or B) is a Basic EMT and the ones you commonly think of on ambulances. EMT-I's exist only in certain states and can do some more advanced things such as intubation that a paramedic can do and EMT-P's are paramedics (or "Advanced LIfe Support". Each state in the US varies considerably but this is the general rule.