First responders on scene of the deadly Ride the Ducks crash, and those who fought the summer wildfires, are raising awareness of a funding shortage that's jeopardizing the upcoming training of new paramedics.
The Medic One Foundation recognized the dozens of brave men and women who have helped rescue victims at a fundraiser on Thursday.
Emergency responders from the deadly Ride the Ducks crash were honored for their quick thinking, and coordinated efforts to help victims.
The size of the Aurora Bridge crash scene was enough to test even the largest team of rescuers.
"It was seemingly out of movie," Jason Lynch with the Seattle Fire Department said. "You could write a script of a bad movie, and that is what it was."
Victims on the Aurora Bridge were scattered on the roadway, and trapped inside damaged vehicles.
"It was chaos, and it was organized chaos, and it's something that in our profession that we train all of our lives for," Medic One paramedic Michael Barokas said. "Thank goodness in most cases it never happens."
Firefighters and medics say despite all the challenges of finding and helping victims, there were some things about the scene that helped.
"We had a lot of resources very close," Barokas said.
The event also honored first responders who helped during this summer's wildfires, and raised money for Medic One.
The group says a funding shortage is jeopardizing upcoming training for 24 new paramedics - something the state's recent tragedies show could be needed at a moment's notice.