Paramedic Chief

Chief Alan Cowen walks us through the early history of the City of Los Angeles Emergency Services from horse-drawn firefighting equipment and ambulance carriages up through today's modern department that has become a model for the entire country. As with most young boys of post-war America, Alan was obsessed with fire engines and ambulances with sirens a'blazing. An event witnessed in his early childhood was an accident near his house, involving a train. The City of Los Angeles Receiving Hospital Ambulance team that was dispatched to the scene that day seemed to transform the crash site from hysteria and chaos to a calm professionalism that permeated outward to the bystanders, especially one 10-year old. From that early moment, he knew he wanted a career in Emergency Medical Services. That journey ultimately led Alan to become the City's Paramedic Chief for the Los Angeles Fire Department. Chief Cowen takes us into the common centers and on-scene to some of the City's largest emergency events including wildfires, earthquakes, and riots and recounts some of the City's periods of racism at Central Receiving Hospital and the LAFD as it transformed into the professional department it is today-a department with a strong culture of mutual respect and diversity. This book represents a time capsule that historians and citizens alike will enjoy and reference for generations to come.