Mark Z

I think it is so stupid lake mohegan has like 3 chief cars 4 flycars 3 other cars this is just a big waste of tax payers money there is no reason for this many vehicles i don't care how big your district is you don't see other agencies with like 10 flycars chief cars etc.

That does seem like a lot of vehicles but I am totally unfamilar with the dept and am curious as to how many stations/calls are run in a year? I don't agree with the poster above and am not calling anything stupid!

They should be ashamed of themselves! The kid screwed up and it cost him his life! I wasn't there, but would wager most of us would have reacted the same way the officer did and I won't second guess his actions. I have children and would hate to see anything happen to them but don't see how this helps anything. Hang in there Officer Hess!

Another example of why engineered fire protection in structures can't replace proper staffing levels in the fire service.

My link

My link

I am surprised that this thread has not generated much discussion, we need to be putting this out there so that those controlling the purse strings realize that boots on the ground are still needed even with all the safety bells and whistles! Thanks for posting this!

RIP, you did us proud.

COGS, thanks for posting this.

N0VOC, Welcome to the club!

Age shouldn't matter. Things like reibursment for gym membership and a department personal trainer, as well as promoting a healthy enviroment, can be done in a volunteer department.

In this day and age with depts, shutting down due to lack of funds, I don't think it is the best time to go looking for funding for these kinds of programs/expenses. I am not saying you are wrong I just think it may not be the best time to start the discussion.

if CPAT is the standard for career firefighters to start the academy, it should also be the standard for volunteer firefighters who are interior as well. Because, again, volunteers perform the same job, and should be on the same level with fitness and health.

If the CPAT were required for the volunteer fire service it would cripple the volunteer fire service; I am interior qualified in my dept and I don't think I could pass the CPAT, and at my age( 51) don't even have a clue about setting up the kind of physical conditioning program it would take to get in shape to pass it! But I also realize that unless absolutely neccesary, I have no business on an interior attack anyway.

What does this saying translate to? I know the first part is speak spanish? What does "Le puedo ayudar" translate to?

Great Photos! Are they hiring?

Phone cams will never be able to capture a picture that is good quality compared to full size or point and shoot cameras.

Sorry, but the wife's new iPhone does a better job than the digital we bought a few years ago and is much more available. I can see better and better camera phones with each new generation, i don't think it is just wishful thinking from the phone makers.

You and I are simply going to agree to disagree. Before I posted I had three FF'se review what marc posted just to make sure that I wasn't over reacting; all three agreed that he was baiting and turning it into a volly thing. btw one of the FF's is career and he agreed with me also, so while your entitled to your opinion, we are will not be able to agree and I think the Moderators ought to review the post from Marc and if they deem necessary, remove it.

It's "crap" like this that causes people to become frustrated with this site and yes, this is a free site ane we don't have to read it; then you hear people moaning that particpation levels are down. wonder why? Think twice before you post.

GET OVER IT!!!

It was irresponsible of the Chief and calls into question his judgement and ability to function as a fire officer and as a volunteer chief he doesn't lose his livelyhood if he is tossed out. Ultimately this thread is about a lack of professionalism and not much else. Quit trying to turn this into a paid vs volunteer thread and get a thicker skin!

I never thought about how much Seth spends to run EMTBravo, I have sent him a couple of bucks when I can spare a few and if the day comes where a few dollars more comes in than Seth sends out I am not going to get upset about it. I am not trying to submarine any effort to start a subscription site, just saying that I am not going to beat Seth over the head about what he does with the money, I TRUST HIM!

I listed some of the general site expenses earlier, it's probably close to $5,000 a year to operate the Bravo sites including some contingencies.

Seth never made a dime for his efforts in 7 years of running EMTBravo. On the contrary, he's spent thousands of his own dollars maintaining this site. Now he can no longer afford to "go south" to pay the bills.

And so, just what is the big deal if there was a surplus, after all was said and done?

If he makes a few bucks after paying the bills, so what?

I get a great deal of enjoyment out of emtbravo and have no problem with Seth making money off of this site.

:)YAHOO!!!!

Thanks for what you have done and I wish you all the best in the future.

It would be like vollies trying to run the FDNY, haha.

I much as I would love to volunteer WITH the FDNY, there is NO WAY IN H**L I would ever stab them in the back and volunteer in order to strikebreak and I would bet that most volunteers feel the same way. (I hope!)

@FFlieu: Try LifeLine! My service has six, we have bought 7? The dealer here in CT has been very good.

Agreed, but the current rules for billing usually do not allow you to cover your costs unless you transport. Thats why so many places do its to pay for the code.

I don't disagree, but that is a silly reason for a RLS transport. The billing for EMS is one of the areas that need serious overhaul and has done much to inhibit advancement of EMS because "Ain't gonna get paid for it" is an easy response to any attempt at change. That you are correct is beyond dispute but do you agree the rules need to be changed for many reasons and not just this one?

. I say its up to the discretion of the driver/emt or paramedic in the back to run red lights to the hospital.

I as a matter of policy do not run RLS to the hospital unless ABSOLUTELY NECCESARY, I can count the number of times I thought it needed on the fingers of both hands. My service does transport cardiac arrests RLS but I am listening to those that say that we may not have to do even that. In my limited experience transport RLS is VERY RARELY NEEDED. Priorty dispatching can work and there are agencies in my area that handle all calls priorty 1 no matter what he call is so there is work to be done in educating people all over.

Saturday the 26th! Anybody else going?

LOL. What about if someone read my post again and know what terms mean what. If there is rigor or lividity those are signs of OBVIOUS DEATH..hence BLS personnel do not need to start resuscitation efforts. Therefore..if you don't start any resuscitation efforts...you cannot TERMINATE them. Clearer now for ya?

So again...no BLS should not be able to terminate resusciation efforts in the field being they are not trained to nor do their AED's more often do not show EKG rhythems. Which by the way the protocol states that an AED is only to be placed on an unresponsive patient for all you LP 12 as AED's and are putting leads on patients.

Also I for the most part do not have the ambulance crew use lights and sirens to the hospital with a cardiac arrest. There is nothing I'm not doing that they are not going to do at the ER and 9 times out of 10 they call it within several minutes of arrival. Not worth the risk or on the high priority "True Emergency" scale.

OK, we agree then! You made a statement that I wanted to clarify and your clarification was not what I was afraid you might intend. Thanks for taking the time to respond to my question and I can't imagine a paramedic around here not taking a cardiac arrest what we call priority 1(lights and sirens) to the ER, there is at least one service that does all transports priority 1 regardless of the patient complaint. Thanks again.

I feel that the current ALS protocol is sufficient in its delineation of how to handle termination in the field. I'm with WAS. 20 minutes of resuscitation efforts with no change is a pretty good indication that the situation is not going to come to a successful conclusion. All interventions need to be completed and at least 2 rounds of medication therapy with ample time for circulation.

At no time do I feel that in our area should BLS TERMINATE efforts in the field if no ALS is available. Start CPR get the AED attached and get moving to your facility. If you bag well and get good compressions you will keep oxygen moving and let the hospital make the decision.

What about the patient that has obvious rigor or dependent lividity? I don't see a need for transport BLS in that situation, the danger inherent in lights and siren transport is high enough that doing it for no reason is silly. If ALS is not available the EMT's need to step up and be able to make those decisions, or you need more ALS resources so that EMT's won't have to make those decisions then..

I saw this and thought I would post it to the forum as it is a great community relations move and an all around good idea!

http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/06/07/1073755/eggertsville-bicycle-squad-to.html

"Sorry if my comment landed too hard - perhaps ranting was the wrong word? But I would indeed call it constructive discussion. Let's continue. "

Duly noted and totally forgiven. Now let's move on.

Regarding the young man awake and alert, I completely agree-- let the line wait till you arrive in the ER. For the young man I mentioned, however, he rolled in looking pale as if he was lying in a casket, totally unresponsive to anything but my ratty knuckles rubbing into his sternum- hard. Would you have lined THAT guy?

And for the older woman who OD'd on over 40 pills (2 different kinds) of antidepressants and was twitching and babbling incoherently, with a very irregular HR in the 150's and a BP of 80-90 systolics, would you have lined her too?

For the record, neither came in lined. Both survived just fine- the younger AMA'd when his high wore off and the lady spent 24hrs in the ICU on a Cardizem drip for 12 hrs of that stay. Both will very likely be back.

Please share your perspectives on both scenarios.

1rst male pt;

Pale, unresponsive to painful stimuli, Yes and probably used Narcan as well. I would suggest he be on a cardiac monitor and Hi-flow o2 as well. I might consider an NPA as well.

2nd Pt:

I am going to assume that she was on a monitor, but add hi-flow o2 and yes she would have gotten a line and depending on transport time and what medication she overdosed on, dealt agressively with the arrythmia.

Sorry if my comment landed too hard - perhaps ranting was the wrong word? But I would indeed call it constructive discussion. Let's continue.

On the note regarding IV starts on drug ODs, here's my thoughts as I've had a related call not too long ago. You have a young man who recently relapsed into his heroin addiction....found unresponsive by family (who gave rescue breaths for a brief period) but now conscious and alert but still slightly somnolent (barely if at all - converses well). Patient is nonviolent and cooperative but refuses a line or IM narcan. Transport is uneventful, patient remains awake with good vitals and SPo2. Do you force a line and meds on this patient risking him becoming uncooperative, or do you transport as is and respect his refusal despite his drug abuse in the interest of crew and personal safety.

Pt conversing well, good vitals, it is possible a line is not neccessary and why risk dealing with an uncooperative pt. I would agree with your choice given the information you have given me, but would ask just one question; how was the pt trending? Did he have periods of diminished responsiveness or was he slowly becoming more and more alert?