‘Nero’s Law’ training deadline extended by a year

The Office of Emergency Medical Services in the Department of Public Health has extended the compliance deadline for emergency medical service providers to be trained in police dog treatment and transport.

Under Chapter 23 of the Acts of 2022 (known as “Nero’s Law”), ambulance services in Massachusetts must ensure that all certified EMTs, at all levels, complete a training course of at least three hours dealing with police dog (K9) treatment and transport.

In early February, the Office of Emergency Medical Services pushed the implementation deadline back by one year (with AR 2-270), giving ambulance services without waivers until Feb. 10, 2024, to comply. The OEMS also made changes to the refresher training, course instructor and resource requirements.

The MMA had joined the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Ambulance Association, and the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts in writing a letter to the Department of Public Health requesting additional time for review and a one-year extension for the thousands of EMS personnel in Massachusetts who must comply with the new training requirements.

Nero’s Law, named after a police dog, requires emergency medical personnel to assess, treat and transport police K9s that are injured in the line of duty. This may include first aid, CPR, and other lifesaving interventions. Emergency medical personnel would be advised to not transport injured K9s, however, if providing such transport would inhibit their ability to provide emergency medical attention or transport to a person requiring services.

Nero’s Law was filed in response to a line-of-duty shooting in 2018 that killed Yarmouth Police Sergeant Sean Gannon and severely injured his K9 partner, Nero. At that time, emergency medical personnel were not permitted to treat Nero’s critical injuries.