First response teams are often crucial in emergency situations.
After years of talk, the City of Montreal finally has trained first responders across most of the island.
The proposal was first made in 2000, when just 11% of the island was covered.
Nine years later, coverage is almost complete, and the occasion was marked with a ceremony at city hall.
People at the ceremony told stories of how they had been saved by first responders, including a bus driver whose life was saved when he had a heart attack.
1400 firefighters at 59 fire stations have been trained in emergency response. By the end of the year all 65 fire stations will have them.
In 2008, they answered 34,000 calls across the island.
