8 SD counties to invest in EMS body armor

EMS leaders said ballistic vests are the next step to protecting personnel

By EMS1 Staff

MINNEHAHA COUNTY, S.D. — EMS providers across the state of South Dakota recently secured funding to purchase body armor.

Following attacks on first responders, EMS leaders said ballistic vests are the next step to protecting personnel.

Paramedic chiefs and EMS leaders need to answer these questions before purchasing body armor for their medics

"The world is changing and we have different emerging threats," Minnehaha County Emergency Manager Lynn DeYoung told the Argus Leader. "This is not the first evolution in protecting first responders and it won't be the last."

Officials said such changes were put into motion after dealing with active shooter situations in the last several years.

"We try to keep the medical folks back until the scene is safe," Lincoln County Emergency Manager Harold Timmerman said. "But we want to get our medical people in there as soon as possible for people who may be hurt."

In total, eight counties will purchase ballistic vests through a federal homeland security grant.