Tonight on Fireside Chats, we're sitting down with paramedic Tyler Crick.

Tyler got his start in EMS in 2020, but the moment that really lit the fire for him happened years earlier during the Bremen tornado. Watching first responders work that disaster scene showed him a side of the job most people never see, and he knew right then that he wanted to be part of it.

He started his career as an EMT with ComCare, spending two years learning the ropes and seeing the reality of the job firsthand. Since then he's worked his way up to paramedic with Muhlenberg EMS, where he's handled everything from serious medical emergencies to high-speed pursuit crashes and traumatic scenes that most people can't even imagine.

But tonight isn't just about the calls. Tyler wants to talk about the reality of EMS — the parts the public rarely understands. The biggest disconnect between what people think EMS does and what actually happens on scene. The weight of life-or-death decisions. And the difficult conversations that come when families are looking for hope in moments where there may not be any.

This job is unpredictable. One moment you're responding to a breathing problem, the next you're standing in the middle of chaos. And that's exactly what drew Tyler to it in the first place — never knowing what the day will bring.

So tonight, we're going to pull back the curtain a little bit on EMS and talk about what it's really like on the other side of that ambulance door.