first responder

English

Noun

first responder (plural first responders) (chiefly Canada, US, Australia)

1. A member of an emergency service who is first on the scene, or among those first on the scene, at an emergency.
   • 2017 August 20, “The Observer view on the attacks in Spain”, in The Observer‎^[1]:

     Many survivors tried to describe what they felt, but words failed them. Hard to imagine, too, the emotions of the first responders – the ambulance crews, the medics and the police – faced by ghastly mayhem. It must have felt overwhelming, but they did their jobs and doubtless saved many lives.

   • 2021, “Mercedes-Benz self-driving car technology approved for use”, in Fleet news:

     At the same time the hazard warning lights and, once the vehicle has come to a standstill, the Mercedes-Benz emergency call system is activated and the doors and windows are unlocked, to make access to the interior easier for any first responders.

   • 2022 September 4, Huizhong Wu, “Military reserves, civil defense worry Taiwan as China looms”, in AP News‎^[2], archived from the original on 05 September 2022‎^[3]:

     In July, the New Taipei city government organized a large-scale drill with its disaster services and the Defense Ministry. Included for the first time was urban warfare, such as how first responders would react to an attack on a train station or a port.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:first responder.
2. A member of an emergency service trained to provide emergency medical care.

Translations

a member of an emergency service who is first on the scene at an emergency

• Finnish: pelastustyöntekijä, ensimmäinen pelastustyöntekijä
• German: Ersthelfer des Rettungsdienstes m
• Hungarian: mentős (hu), elsősegélynyújtó (hu), első/elsődleges/elsőként beavatkozó