Before 2003, Louisville / Jefferson County had two third-service agencies, one being the City of Louisville EMS

Jefferson County EMS was born out of the Jefferson County Police Department, and for many years, it was staffed by Jefferson County police officers. It eventually grew to be its own, third-service, EMS department.

When the governments of Louisville and Jefferson County merged in 2003, so too did the two EMS agencies, becoming the Louisville Metro Emergency Medical Services. It is currently part of Emergency Services, which includes also Emergency Management and Metrosafe (911).

Before there was EMS, as we know it today, there were ambulances. These photographs are courtesy of the University of Louisville photo archives and depict an ambulance from the Kentucky Cab Company Ambulance from 1928. For more, click here.

Before EMS existed in the form we know it today, other emergency services filled the need for some type of emergency medical response. For example, on January 26, 1924, police led a raid on the Victoria Hotel, at 10th and Broadway. (As it was Prohibition time, the raid was of course for alcohol.) They happened upon a booby trap, which set off tear gas. Guests in the hotel were roused and evacuated, many choking from the fumes. The police rescue squad was called, as it possessed an early form of respiratory support called a pulmotor or a "lung motor." . In another incident, the police rescue squad and the fire department worked frantically to rescue a man who was buried in an excavation collapse, but were sadly unsuccessful. Other rescues involved leaking gas fumes in houses, with regular reports of occupants being overcome. And in a more lighthearted response, Felix the cat, a denizen of Ella's Beauty Salon at 506 S. Sixth Street, was rescued with the efforts of the police rescue squad and the Fire department after four days of diligent effort to extract him from within the depths of the building where he'd fallen. Damage to the building by their efforts was, well, substantial, but his owner was happy to have him safe!