The team leader calls them a “different breed.” Tactical paramedics with Lubbock Fire Rescue respond to emergency calls involving the police department’s SWAT officers.

“It’s not always going to be safe to get your ‘regular’ firefighters or your regular EMS crews in there, so we integrate these paramedics, in a tactical environment, to get them there quicker, so if something does happen, we can provide care faster,” Battalion Chief Chris Addington explained.

He said he hoped to be the “busiest team that was never needed,” the the group formed about three years ago.

Residents may not recognize the nine tactical paramedics when they see SWAT around, but trust Addington, “we’re there.”

“If you see the SWAT team, there’s a medic in there with them,” Addington said.

“We’re there to keep them safe, that’s the whole thing,” he said. “That’s our mission, keep people safe.”

“They’re ‘regular’ firefighters just like everybody else, they just have special training and we come together with SWAT when we need to,” Addington mentioned.

Addington said the partnership was created with Lubbock Police to support officers on scene during particularly dangerous situations. It morphed into helping citizens who were injured during police responses.

“There’s a lot of reasons that we partner with Lubbock Fire Rescue to have those paramedics on our SWAT team,” Lubbock Police Chief Greg Stevens said in a recent press conference.

LPD SWAT officers were called to Grinnell Street and Indiana Avenue on January 26, where police were executing a warrant on a man police said was “armed and dangerous.” Police said an officer shot the suspect as LPD attempted to take the suspect, Paul Anthony Valderas, into custody.

“I can’t say enough what a great asset that is,” Stevens explained during his press conference about the officer-involved shooting. “Certainly in this instance, you can’t refute the fact that this may very well be what saved Mr. Valderas’ life– to have highly-trained paramedics to be able to get there that quickly and and to immediately begin treating these kinds of critical injuries.”

At last check, Valderas was listed as a security patient at a local hospital.

“When it may be too dangerous before a scene is secured, before EMS can come in, we have these folks in the right equipment, ballistic vests and everything, to come on in with us. And that is a game-changer,” Stevens added.

“It’s very special, being that I get to be an integral part of that team, and it’s a very team-related environment with the SWAT guys,” Addington added.

“To see the relationships that Lubbock Fire and Lubbock Police have, and how tight we are now because of this, is truly awesome,” he said.