REDDING, Calif. - In 1974 President Gerald Ford designated this week in may national EMS week.

Since then thousands of the first responder have answered millions of calls all around the country.

Here at home, the Action News Now team got a firsthand look at what first responders at Mercy Medical Center in Redding do in their day to day operations.

Most people only see the sirens and the helicopters that go along with all the action of an emergency but a lot of isn’t seen are the simple things they do to keep the community safe and comfortable.

Patrick Carpenter told our team today “I think I've spent just as much time cleaning peoples floors, or making them a sandwich, or rearranging the food in their pantry so that it doesn't fall then we are doing anything else.”

First responders don’t get a lot of downtimes because they are thorough in their jobs.

The main mission is to make sure that patients are not only cared for but they are comfortable.

In just the western area of Shasta county around 25-thousand calls are answered every year.

Millions more are answered throughout California and across the country.

While though not every single one is life-threatening, Carpenter said today “we like to look at it as more of how big of an emergency is it for our patients so something that might not be life threating to me might be life-altering to them so we treat it as a significant life event for them.”

These medics also have incredibly rapid response times.

EMS are mandated to be on scene no more than 10 minutes after a call and that they usually are already underway around 30 seconds after you call 9-1-1.

So if you have a minute this week don’t forget to thank our first responders for everything they do.