On the morning of January 6, 2021, Christopher Holmes was starting out his second day as a battalion chief for DC Fire and EMS.
"I'd just recently been promoted," said Holmes, who's been with the department for more than 20 years.
In his role as battalion chief, he was part of the team helping to lead the DC Fire and EMS response at the Capitol as a violent crowd began storming the building.
"We noticed they were starting to get onto the grounds of the Capitol, and we repositioned to make sure our EMS resources wouldn't get blocked in," Holmes recalled. "We pretty much staged in a couple different areas so we could responsibly deploy our resources." In the hours that followed, D.C. firefighters and paramedics would treat hundreds of people for injuries, both police officers and rioters.
