The series stars Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe as two rescuers, who work as paramedics and firefighters in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

The paramedics are supervised by the emergency room (ER) staff of Rampart General Hospital: head physician Dr. Kelly Brackett (Robert Fuller), head nurse Dixie McCall (Julie London), neurosurgeon Dr. Joe Early (played by London's real-life husband Bobby Troup), and young intern Dr. Michael "Mike" Morton (Ron Pinkard, though in the early episodes was a character named Dr. Thomas Gray).

Other recurring characters include Battalion Chiefs Conrad (Art Balinger), Sorensen (Art Gilmore), Miller, and McConnike (William Boyett), Firefighter Conway / Firefighter Paramedic Tom Wheeler / Animal Control Supervisor Walt Marsh (Gary Crosby), Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy/Carson Police Officer/Sergeant Vince (Vince Howard), and recurring ambulance attendants Albert "Al" (Angelo DeMeo) and his assistant, George (George Orrison).

In 1971, Cinader and Webb met with Captain Jim Page and other officers from the Los Angeles County Fire Department to discuss creating a show about firefighters.

[2] At the time, the Los Angeles area was home to 2 of only 12 paramedic programs in the United States (as opposed to ambulances that provided basic first aid or only transport).

[9] Along the same line, the series was technically accurate as every script was fact-checked and approved by the series' technical consultants, Dr. Michael Criley (the man who had initially created the Los Angeles County Fire Department Paramedic program) and Los Angeles County Fire Department Battalion Chief James O.

[9] To train for their parts, the actors, Mantooth and Tighe sat in some paramedic classes (although they never actually took any written exams) and went on extensive ride-alongs with Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Mantooth mentioned that you needed to take the entire course and pass all the skills stations and final certification exam to be a paramedic, and went on to admit that "if anyone has a heart attack, I'll call 911 with the best of them.

Station 106 in Rolling Hills Estates, California, a similar design to 127, was initially the choice, but faced north (versus south), which would make it difficult to light properly.

A long scene showing the sequence of microfiche reader address lookup to quik-call dispatch appears in the season six episode "Family Ties".

[4] The vehicles which represented Squad 51 were constructed by Universal crews and were accurate replicas of the units built in-house on stock 1970 Dodge D300 truck chassis by Los Angeles County Fire Department prior to the filming of "Emergency".

The replica's accuracy is evident in that the white light atop the Federal Signal Twinsonic lightbar was part of the blueprint, but never installed by Los Angeles County Fire Department on its departmental units.

In a few instances in the first and second seasons, the regular apparatus borrowed from Los Angeles County Fire Department and used for filming appear to have been unavailable as some scenes show a slightly different vintage Crown Firecoach pumper, most evident by the different style of emergency lights on the cab's roof.

[21] As the fire department for the concession area was private (and not state or federal), the engine had the California personalized (vanity) license plate YCS E51.

[28] The protective clothing ("turn-out gear") that the firefighters wore, including the MSA Topgard helmets, as well as nearly all other equipment such as insignia, were standard fire department issue at the time.

However, ample evidence supports a conclusion that the TV show was a primary factor that fueled the legal changes that allowed paramedic services to develop and expand.

[1] Bergman acknowledges that some of this trend had already been in motion, due to developments such as the 1966 report Accidental Death and Disability: The Neglected Disease of Modern Society and California's Wedworth-Townsend Act in 1970.

[1][2] The show was referenced during a debate in the Health Committee of the California State Assembly, during the passage of a bill to make the Wedworth-Townsend Act permanent.

"[30] In a 1993 paper, Byron K. Toma argued that it "helped convince the public that they are entitled to the highest levels of emergency medical aid technologically available.

"[31] In episode 17 of season 3, "Fools", singer Bobby Sherman plays an arrogant intern who shows disdain for John and Roy ... until he is sent out with them by Dr. Brackett to see exactly what they do.

He worked with paramedics and taught CPR and first aid and subsequently joined the Los Angeles Police Department Reserve Officer Program.

spun off an animated version called Emergency +4 which ran on NBC Saturday mornings from 1973 to 1976, and featured four youngsters and their three pets who participated in rescue adventures with firefighter/paramedics DeSoto and Gage.

Following recurring themes from Emergency!, Gage continues to fail in his attempts to get a date, while DeSoto briefly considers changing careers to become a park ranger.

[32] The "905-Wild" episode of Emergency!, broadcast during the closing of its Season 4 on Saturday March 1, 1975, was intended to be the pilot for a new series created and produced by Jack Webb.

The episode featured Albert Popwell and Mark Harmon as the officers and David Huddleston and Gary Crosby in supporting roles.

9), where Hen is introduced to fellow peers who are struggling to fit into their roles (Edit: The Rampart mentioned is not the fictional hospital, but the real-life LAPD station.)

Survival on Charter #220: While Squad 51 is on a call, two planes collide with one crash landing in a Los Angeles subdivision, trapping Gage and DeSoto.

A worker is rescued from the Golden Gate Bridge, an ambulance gets into an accident that ends up killing the patient being transported to the hospital, an epileptic in a coffee shop is treated along with someone having a heart attack at a dance bar.

These were: "The Jaws of Life" (in which the title gadget proves its worth when Gage and DeSoto must rescue one man from a subway mishap and another from a burning car; they also help a woman shocked by a high-voltage power line; both are uneasy about supper this week, since Lopez is the designated chef at Station 51), "Front Page Story" (in which Gage and DeSoto, after rescuing an elderly man from a burning – and supposedly abandoned – wharf, must deal with investigative reporter Jenny James ... who's been instructed to write an exposé on Squad 51; she observes – and unwittingly complicates – their treatment of a blind teenage diabetic with a fractured skull, who might need on-the-spot surgery to save his life), and "The Used Car Caper" (in which our paramedics assist a security guard shot in a bank robbery, and then a young woman injured by a reckless driver; the latter call ties into the subplot, as DeSoto puts his old car up for sale ... and gets an offer from a fellow who's suspiciously eager to close the deal).

seasons 1 – 6 were available on Netflix on Demand in high definition (though several episodes are missing due to rights issues), having been restored and rescanned from the original film negatives.