Every day, our paramedics wake up not knowing what the day will bring.

They see the best and the worst of humanity and confront some of the most horrific tragedies.

A new book Rescue Paramedics is putting the spotlight on these local, and often unsung, heroes.

Author Brett Stevens tells Chris Smith he’s been writing about emergency services personnel, including soldiers and police, for decades but our paramedics demonstrate a different kind of bravery.

“I’d always seen paramedics but never really understood what they were doing until I had the opportunity to work with them in the army and suddenly I went, ‘This is intense’.

“What I learned from that, it’s a different type of courage to those who carry rifles or go to shootings.

“To work with guys and girls who have to make a decision when they’ve got the family freaking out around them… they have to make a life and death decision about what to do, that’s intense.”

Brett says he originally thought about calling the book Despair because of the nature of stories he heard.

“But then there’s stories that end well and you just go, ‘Wow'”.

Click PLAY below for the full interview with author Brett Stevens