John Moon

John Moon began his EMS career in 1972 with Freedom House Ambulance, inspired by the crews he observed while working as an orderly in a local hospital. After completing his training, he was selected by Dr. Peter Safar to be the first medic to perform tracheal intubation in an operating room. He is also credited with performing the first field intubation by a paramedic. When Pittsburgh ended its contract with Freedom House in 1975 to start its own ambulance service, Moon was one of the few paramedics who successfully transitioned.

At Pittsburgh EMS, he became a certified Master Scuba Diver, the first African American in Pittsburgh Public Safety to achieve this. He developed the department's first Diversity Recruitment Program, leading to the hiring of Amera Gilchrist, who became Pittsburgh EMS's first African American female chief in 2023. Moon retired as an Assistant Chief in 2009 after 34 years of service.