v85

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Posts posted by v85

  1. Posted · Edited by v85

    This is what I got from radio reference:

    Well for starters, the PD is licensed for 50w (70w ERP) vs EMS at 25w (25w ERP). Also, the PD's antenna is mounted 20 feet higher on the tower than the EMS antenna.

    The PD antenna could be a higher gain model than the EMS antenna. The PD's repeater could also be a different brand/model than the EMS repeater, and/or maintained better. The antennas could be mounted on different sides of the tower, which would give them different characteristics even while standing in the same spot in the middle of the town, depending on any nulls that are introduced.

    From this thread: http://forums.radioreference.com/industry-discussion/274735-building-portable-coverage.html

    PEMO3 likes this

  2. Posted

    About the whole ALS/BLS thing

    If you have a priority call and a BLS truck is 5 minutes away, and an ALS truck is 30 minutes away, isn't it better for the patient to send the closer unit, then intercept en route, then have a patient wait 25 extra minutes with no EMS at all attending to them.

    Now if you are saying that they should be intercepting with their own company, yes that is true.

  4. Posted

    I was just wondering, does anyone know the reason why civil service testing in New York State is such a long process.

    For example, the fact Orange County has stated it would take 3 to 6 months to get the written test results of the dispatcher exam.

    In other states, the written exam results are graded and returned the same day of the test. And in 6 months you could go through the hiring process and start the academy for police officers or be working as a dispatcher.

    I realize that the counties in NY have to submit the tests to the state but still, they are Scantrons, it should not take 6 months. Plus the fact that the counties in NYS still snail-mail the results.

    It just seems so inefficient in this age of technology

    effd3918 likes this

  7. Posted · Edited by v85

    I have to say that I don't agree with using the fire department in a checkpoint, unless like I said they were doing a purely pub-ed type role, and even then its iffy but:

    As far as perception problems go:

    Wouldn't you also have perception problems doing decontamination (i.e. stripping people); or telling a parent that they can't see their kids who were just in a car accident, or doing perimeter control at a reunification point for a mass shooting (like the pictures of the Newtown Fire Police and Fire Department)

    Also, I don't really think we should have a little bit more information than a vague news article and a picture, when trying to figure out what exactly happened.

  8. Posted · Edited by v85

    Fire Police maybe for traffic control?

    That's the only reason I could possibly think of. But their not wearing Fire Police vests or badges so I don't know.

    Or maybe the photo is a stock photo of some other incident that the news just used.

    Edit: it also says they were doing public education at the checkpoints. Maybe LE was first screening for 1192 drivers, then FD was a little bit past talking to people about the dangers of drunk driving and what they have seen

  10. Posted

    I would check for per diem EMT positions. The way the schedule is now, you have full availability Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, and Thursday day shifts.

    That should be enough to get on per diem somewhere or even part time, depending on how flexible they are.

    I don't know where you are living but the main companies in Westchester are

    Empress

    Transcare

    Westchester EMS

    EMStar (Care 1)

  12. Posted · Edited by v85

    Even better:

    The county I worked 911 for had a county fire department that had a policy that if the first due ambulance was tied up, you had to send the next closest ambulance and a suppression piece out of the first-due as a first responder to stop the clock.

    That meant that we were sending 2 pieces of apparautus with 6 people to nursing homes for BLS calls!

    Edit:

    The nursing home staffs were something else entirely ! I had staff that didn't know the address, staff that were barely intelligible, staff's who needed serious retraining in vital signs taking (you wouldn't believe how many difficulty breathing, SpO2 = 70%, Pulse 130 patients ended up being low priority BLS calls) etc

  14. Posted

    From the topic on the radio reports:

    How many people were taught in EMT class how to write a PCR?

    When I took my class, we went over it and had a mock PCR to do as homework. I know in a couple of the classes before mine though, they did not teach how to write a PCR

  16. Posted · Edited by v85

    Two that stand out to me when I was dispatching:

    1. Caller complained about dogs being walked on a trail (totally legal in the area I was dispatching for). When that was explained to the caller, and the fact the needed to call the council if they wanted a law changed, they went off demanding to talk to the chief, the commissioner, threatening to sue the PD, etc...

    2. Subject requesting EMS for transport to the hospital... No medical complaint, requesting to go to a hospital over 30 miles away from where the call was placed, and wanted EMS to pick them up in a resturant parking lot 1/2 mile away from where they called

    3. "Happy Helper" calls, I've had two conversations like this, in the middle of snow and ice storms:

    Caller: There's a car rolled over on A street and B street

    Me: Does that car have fire line tape wrapped around it

    Caller: Umm...yes

    Me: Okay, we already know about it then

    4. What people DON'T call 911 for

    Injured deer or dogs in the roadway get about 20 911 calls from everyone with a cell phone. MVA/Pedestrian Struck gets about 1 call. Child appearing to be forced into a vehicle gets 1 call....15 minutes later when the reporting party gets home

    5. People who don't understand HOA bylaws aren't enforced by the police.

    For example I had one person insisting to me that there were juveniles out in violation of a curfew. I informed them that the jurisdiction doesn't have a curfew, they continued to insist it does, eventually admitting that it was an HOA curfew. They still wanted a police officer to come out

    6. People who don't know the law

    I could just hear the shock in some of my callers voices when they were informed that the age of consent in the state I dispatch for was 16 not 18, and therefore the sergeant had determined they would not be getting a police officer to their call of catching their 16 year old daughter with her 16 year old boyfriend.

    Luckily for us though, where I dispatched for had both online reporting and telephone reporting through the station desk officers. So we didn't have to deal with most of the minor "I was on vacation for two weeks and came home and found my mailbox smashed" calls.

    sfrd18 likes this

  19. Posted

    However she was taking much from the corporate world which had some truly bizarre regulations.

    This is the problem with the emergency services in general today.

    To all managers of emergency services: The emergency services ARE NOT part of corporate America, and the ARE NOT 'customer service jobs'

    Now, do emergency services personnel have to use what are widely considered customer service skills like empathy and active listening, yes. But that doesn't mean emergency services positions are customer service positions

  23. Posted

    I can't make any comments because this story is really one sides. If he is on the engine and there is also a private ambulance on scene there is such thing as too many hands. Also maybe the black people he encountered were family friends and he let his emotions get ahead of him. I am sure we will all push a little harder for a loved one to get the best care out there.

    In my opinion, I think you should understand his position first by talking to him after your next rendezvous and debrief and talk to him about the trend. That is what gets things solved. You are EMS professions that work together in the same community so take that initiative. You don't go to higher ups unless you talk to the person first. Imagine what would happen if this person gets their license revoked because of a misunderstanding. Good luck trying to be a EMS provider in the area anymore.

    In closing, talk to him. Understand him. Build rapport with him and I guarantee you no further action will be necessary and it will clear up this objective misunderstanding. Who knows maybe he has a better rapport with that community of people so his guys tell him to take the lead. You never know unless you ask.

    The main issue I have with this line of thinking is the fact that the firefighter in question is a 10 year veteran.

    If he was an 18 year old probie who grew up in an all black neighborhood, and was suddenly assigned to an all white neighborhood I could understand some hesitation as he may feel that the patients would be uncomfortable with him. But in his 10 years of service that issue should have gotten worked out.

    The fact that this firefighter still does this tells me that if it is not intentional racism, it is then, failure to adapt to the emergency services (i.e. being able to deal with all ethnicities)

    velcroMedic1987 likes this

  24. Posted

    I am one of two PBA reps in my precinct and I make sure that the numbers for the peer support team are always posted on the PBA bulletin board as well as a poster with a ph0one number for suicide prevention for cops.

    Both of my volunteer agencies have a EAP business cards/stickers with the phone number around, along with fact sheets about dealing with critical incident stress (what it is, importance of eating right, exercising, finding constructive ways to relieve stress, resources to contact for professional help, etc)