Thank your EMT/EMS person ........

[Junkman]

Today, I was watching a History Channel program on the flight of Florida Air Flight 90 that crashed into the Potomac River about 20 years ago. At the end of the program, they showed how the rescuers were recognized as hero's. I thought about this all after noon, because as a retired EMS/EMT/First Aid Instructor/ambulance driver and attendant for almost 15 years, I realize that there are people that do this work every day and save lives every day, but go unrecognized by the public in general. This is the reason for this post..... The next time that you see one of these people in line at a Duncan Donuts or some other store, thank them for what they do. It is a tough job and also a thankless one most of the time. The other reason that I thought about this so much today, is that 40 years ago this week, that I had received a call from a woman while I was on duty and she told me that she had just called her mothers home. After the phone was answered, that she heard her mother fall to the floor. She was calling from another state and needed help for her mother. I dispatched the ambulance and went on the call also. We arrived at the home, broke in the kitchen door, and were able to save that elderly ladies life. I remember that call of thanks that I and my crew got later that afternoon from the family as if it were today. Those words of thanks were all we needed to feel that all the time that we volunteered was worth the effort. Today, many of the men and women that do the job are paid, but they put more in than just their time. Remember, the life that they save one day might be your own.....

 

[OkeeDon]

The EMT program can work in the other direction, too. I thought I was going to have to suffer a son-in-law who was a stereotype - he just couldn't find his niche. He's hard working and smart, but just couldn't seem to hang on to anything. Then, he decided to try being a fireman. In our area, every fireman has to be at least EMT trained to be on the job.

He got his EMT training and started volunteering while he completed his fireman training. I never saw such a turn-around in a guy -- this is what he was born to do. He's now hired on full-time, has all his EMT, Fireman I and Fireman II certifications, has become a certified rescue diver, and is doing well in his paramedic classes - he should be done this time next year. He's now savng lives, but it saved his life! His insecurity and low self-esteem are gone, and I couldn't be more proud of him.

 

[Hambone]

I agree Junkman! I used there services last week. They did not save my life, but they sure were helpful.
I was laying in bed and could not move. They had to get my big but out of the bed and down the hall before they could get me on the gurney.
That was a week ago Friday, after surgury Tuesday to repair a couple a disc in my back I am so thankfull!!

 

[Junkman]

Your post reminded me of the Christmas Eve drunk that took a tumble over the railing on the second or third floor of a home. I said he was a drunk, but he was also a old cantankerous wealthy drunk that held wild parties in his old family mansion. Some of the guests just walked him up the stairs and put him to bed in the main bedroom. That bed was a feather bed from the turn of the century. We had to get him off the bed in the morning and down the stairs. That is where the real problem arose. How do you get this 250+ pound guy down a winding stair case? We brought in the "reinforcements".... the fire department! They put our Reeves stretcher inside of the Stokes basket and lowered him down the same hole in the railing that he fell through the evening before. Firemen are definitely "part of the crew" many times. We all worked together as a team when we need to....

 

[RobertN]

Your post is a bit of a reminder...

In most populated area's these days, being an EMT-B is not enough any more. Many departments now require the additional Paramedic training, even for work as a Fire Fighter.

About 75-85% of calls-outs for the fire department are for medical calls. Fire/rescue is a small part of the picture for the typical fire station.

I looked at going full time while I was still an active volunteer fire fighter. I have and maintain my EMT cert; I work around Cub Scouts a lot, and feel it is a benefit to have in general. I have FF certs, and can drive/operate apparatus. But, I do not have Paramedic certs... I want to be a Fire Fighter, not a Paramedic(although I highly respect the Paramedics). You just can't get full time work as a FF anymore though. You must be FF/Paramedic.

 

[rdam]

In my County, Fire/Rescue responds and transports. Most stations have an engine and a rescue manned by paramedics. I think the EMT rating is the minimum to be hired as a firefighter. The paramedic rating is strongly encouraged and I think most of the firefighters are paramedics.

2 or 3 times a week, I see them respond to serious crashes. Because the same guys/gals always work together, they all know each others strong and weak points. It's fairly impressive to watch them work together on a seriously injured patient.

The profession received extra recognition post 9/11. It is well deserved now as it was then.

P.S. Robert, I know nothing of this business, but is it possible to work for the Forest Service as a full time FF?It's not as glamorous, but they probably dont do much in the way of EMT/PARA work.

 

[Junkman]

things have certainly changed. I can remember when the local funeral director ran the ambulance service. The standing joke was that if they didn't get there in time to take you to the hospital, then they just took you home..... to the funeral home that it. There was more truth in that than we wanted to acknowledge......

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I can remember when the local funeral director ran the ambulance service )</font>

Yep, and the "ambulances" were nothing more than ordinary station wagons with the back seats removed so a stretcher could be put in there.

 

[RobertN]

Our district, and surrounding districts man both Engines and Medic units. The Medic units are managed under a Joint Power Authority(JPA) for the entire county.

The JPA supplies the fire districts with Medic units. The Fire districts staff them with thier own Paramedics. On a medical call, accident, ect dispatch will send out a medic and an engine. There are not as many medics as engines; typically a engine will arrive first and do initial patient assessment.

Many district here require Paramedic level for hiring.

Most Forest Service and CDF wildland crews are seasonal. CDF(Ca Dept Foresrty) does some full time staffing of stations with structure/wildland crews. the Cameron Park district, next to us, is staffed by CDF personnel.

I would think more about it, but at 40, I am on the older side for full time entry into full time fire fighting. Like the military, they like the young strong guys...

 

[RobertN]

Things have changed for the better of the patient. The care you get now is better than ever before. It really is a good thing.

Early ambulances were often hearses. The driver simply picked the patient up, and delivered them to a hospital; there was no pre-hospital care.

Interestingly, the EMS system kind of came out of the military field care. It really started in large cities in the 60's. It was really catching on as the TV show "Emergency" with squad-51 was in its prime. What they showed on the TV show was pretty much what was being done at the time. It was a pioneering tv show, showing the pioneering work being done in the pre-hospital emergency scene setting.