When I was young firefighters fought fires and that is all. I suspect that being a paramedic was considered laughable and unmanly compared to being a firefighter. And there were lots more fires to fight back then so the firemen (urban areas) had their hands full.
There just aren't enough fires these days (for many reasons) so they branched out into the ambulance/paramedic area to preserve those gubbermint jobs pensions bennies
It's gotten so bad you see firehouse cooks strutting their stuff on cooking shows and in advertisements. Obviously too much time on their hands when the biggest firehouse priority is what kind of herbs to use in the veal parmigiana tonight.
What is really obvious is how many people apply when a job opening for a firefighter becomes available. When there are 3-500 applicants per position, we are simply paying too much for a job that is no longer nearly as hazardous as it once was.