The Town of Tonawanda’s Paramedic Unit is a public service organization within the Town of Tonawanda Police Department that functions under the direction of Dr. Christian Krawczyk. It is a critical link in our community’s emergency medical service (EMS) system, providing high quality and advanced pre-hospital medical care. These professionals have dedicated themselves to the delivery and improvement of advanced pre-hospital emergency medical care. Based out of Police Headquarters on Sheridan Drive, the paramedics respond to a wide variety of calls for service from simple falls and assist calls to more complex medical calls and multiple traumas.

 History

The Town Paramedic Unit was conceived and developed in 1974 under the guidance of the then Town Supervisor James V. Ryan, Medical Director Joseph Takats, and Labor Relations Director Norman Stocker. Following rigorous training of the newly hired 9 full time and 3 alternate paramedic trainees the unit went into service on August 11, 1975 and began providing basic and advanced first aid to the citizens of the Town of Tonawanda and the Village of Kenmore. In their first year of service the paramedics responded to 1,705 requests for first aid.

The mission of the Paramedic Unit is to maintain and provide the highest standards of pre-hospital care for the citizens and visitors of our community. We proudly serve by providing:

• Service - Treat all patients with dignity. Recognize and accept the privilege and trust that is extended to us when we serve others in their time of need.
• Integrity - Demonstrate ethical behavior in all of our interactions. Maintain our credibility by conducting ourselves in an honest and professional manner at all times.
• Teamwork - Build constructive relationships within our community. Support a working environment that encourages equitable treatment and contribution by all.
• Excellence - Pursue continuous improvement in our medical mission through evaluation, education and personal development. Achieve distinction by remaining on the cutting edge in the delivery of quality pre-hospital care by utilizing both technology and training.

Special Operations Unit 

- Bike team, which is made up of specially trained paramedics who operate on bicycles to provide emergency medical care in areas where access is difficult either because of terrain or crowds. 

- Honor Guard, a group who represents our unit in honoring deceased members of our department, or represents our department to pay our respects for those public safety members who have died.

- Tactical Paramedics, extensively trained paramedics who are detailed to the department’s SWAT team to provide advanced medical care and support during tactical operations.

 On August 11th, 2020 the Paramedic Unit celebrated being in service for 45 years.  It is believed to be one of the first paramedic units in New York State.