Emergency Volunteers: Firefighters, EMT's, First Responders

[Firefighter Chick]

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Really? My job is an emergency medical dispatcher! who would have thought that i'd meet another dispatcher chicken person here! haha i love it!

 

[Firefighter Chick]

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Wow, I wouldn't want to step on your toes either if it meant water in the face! haha. (un)fortunately most orders come from my husband, the ex-fire chief current asst. chief. I'm usually taking orders, not giving them out. usually. but i have had a small taste of command. as far as medical, people are usually taking orders from me, and let me tell you, some people are not used to taking orders me, a 5'2'' female that i guess it pretty intimidating.

But that's part of incident command, and you have every right to put people in their place for putting out orders if they're not on scene and not incident command. i bet they'll not make that mistake again!

 

[herfrds]

No ewesheep.

One department and ours has a contest at the mop up stage on who can shoot water into who's truck cab first.
I missed our former sheriff, he got his window up too quickly.

That was payback for the joke he played on me at a training class. I can take it and I can dish it out.

There is 3 guys in the county if they show up I turn the scenes over to them.
1 I trust them
2 I respect them
3 They respect me
4 They have more training

FF chick they had cancelled our county water tender.
Temp was 90+ winds were out of the straight west and blowing at 25 mph.
Had a winter wheat field on fire. Flames were over 50 ft in the air and laying across the road.
Across the road was a barley field. There were 3 home steads in the way and NO fire breaks until you hit the next road 2+ miles away.
It had crossed the road up north and was burning.
3 of my guys were on it and just barely got it out. We were running out of water.
I was ticked. Had to wait to talk to our fire warden the next day, I was calmer then.


I would say the funniest thing was a couple years ago.
Put out a fire and was doing mop up and went to go down a steep slope to hit a hot spot and I slipped on the area that was already soaked and ended up sliding down the hill on my backside in front of my guys and the another companies guys.

Got alot of teasing and remarks about how we are not suppose to fight fires that way. I just laughed it off with them.

 

[catwalk]

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Just comment on what a nice, quiet day it is. That's usually enough to get your tones dropped, isn't it?

 

[EweSheep]

My pet peeves are the people who would jump at the chance every first chance the accident happens that they have NO business being there OR someone who thinks they are above others when assisting the personnel when they can take over the job more effectively.

Hubby was discouraged about the fact that basic EMTs around here would only do geratic (elderly) people calls, to and from hospitals or doctor's visits but non emergency calls. He wanted to do the "paramedic job" when he only has an EMT B certification. It just won't work, sorry hon! Been wanting to do that for years but he just don't understand boundaries, capabilities and when to stop assisting when no assistance is needed.

 

[catwalk]

Not sure what you're saying. Do you mean bossy people without skills to back themselves up? My mother had that problem in the past. She showed up for a MVC, and she was about to ut the C-collar on a patient when another EMT insisted that "he didn't need it." Since my mother wasn't about to put her name on a PCR that reported that spinal immobilazation wasn't applied to a collision patient, she got into her car (she drove to the scene) and went home.

 

[herfrds]

catwalk i think we have those type of people in every department.

I was taught at a training course by an ER nurse that if I am on scene with paramedics and they are not going to listen to my imput and such, get mean. I'm serious, he told me to get in their faces and explain I know a faster way and to listen.
My original class always taught us that paramedics can do no wrong and as soon as they are on scene we are suppose to step back.
So if they are dinking around trying to start an IV on a pt that needs immediate transport chew them out or shove them to the side.

There is no such thing as an over packaged pt. If I was your mother I would have applied the c-collar and documented that she had put it on, so if the nitwit took it off she can show in her report she had put it on. If it's not in writing it didn't happen.

 

[EweSheep]

Hubby got into trouble one time for "holding a backboard" when the paramedics were already at the scene and stablized the patient. Hubby still wanted to play a part in "helping" and knowingly the one paramedic was known to have a medical problem with her back. I told him it does not matter if she had a back problem, its HER duty to pick up the patient. So he got a letter from the paramedic company that if he is to be seen upon the scene of an accident, whether he has a certfication or license, he is to back off when the paramedics are upon the scene, taking over your job as a first responder and therefore your duties ENDS when paramedics are working on the patient. If he does not back off, he will be taken to court. It is a small town ambulance service company which does not have a good rapport among the staff, a bunch of misfits but I digress. Hubby does not know when to stop and oversteps boundaries, etc. so I can see why other employers are hesitating to hire him even he has a good heart but decision making is not his strong suit. So right now, into his fourth year of his EMT certification, has been going to the ambulance center to do some classes to update or to refresh his skills but no jobs as an EMT. He is good enough for his company he works for as a packaging installer for large CAT parts, whenever his co workers get hurt, he would be the first to adminster first aid. That is a good asset to the company so far. Heat exhausions are commonplace in that building......Gatorade runs or he would force a few workers to DRINK some down when they say they are fine but really they were not. And to CW events we go to, same thing, heat exhausion or horse calvary accidents or gun/cannon burns on hands or eyes, he is there along with a few reeanctors who are in the medical field.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Really glad it has not worked that way here. As the higher ups show up they do become in charge but its still all hands on deck till the patent is packed an away.

 

[call ducks]

Dad's a VFF i would love to be in the Fire department but the local one does not have a Junior FF program

Dad was a first responded at his old job. He now is certiied to use the jaws of Life. Has his fire fighter level 1. Can not drive the trucks yet besides the new rescue (GMC on satriodes) I think he may get his air brake licese sometimes. I have thought about doing an EMT course but i don't know

Around here the fire departments have a lot of old people (70's 80's) in them.