pasobuff

Or wasn't it Roxanne? The same crazy lady who would call the County PD and start rattling off stuff...she used to call from the Bronx, the Mobil on the Hutch...oh the fun we had sometimes when it was slow.....she never did let us know what hte winning lottery numbers were, though!!!

FOUND and ok!

FOUND and ok!

No idea if that was a traffic signal, stop sign, or what but either way its a reminder to slow down and stop at intersections....even at 3 AM!

Since this is my first day of retirement after 20 years @ 60 let me tell you our protocols. EMS dispatch: no answer dispatch again 3 min later. No answer after 2 more min. dispatch again and dispatch mutual aid. Fire: after initial dispatch if no answer after 5 min. dispatch again. If no answer (and it has happened) dispatch again and dispatch mutual aid. Mutual aid run cards have been set up by both ems and fire agencies for their districts. Barry I understand what your saying if dept. x crashes, but what if I don't send anybody to the call in a TIMELY manor! The cad prompts us on all re-dispatchs. The buck does not stop @ 60 Control. It is up to each department whether volunteer or career to cover your calls. The cad will prompt us for the city of New Rochelle or Bedford EMS in the same manor. We run with NYS DOH protocols for ems and NFPA for fire. If you can't cover your call's start thinking about joining forces with your neighbor who is covering the call! Thanx for all you do and please stay safe!

Is this real? From the rest of the article Edit: Definitely not real lol

The first one is not a call, but related to the 9/11 experiences being shared by some. I was not able to make it to the city that day, we were mobilizing a task force of fire and ems from my county to respond on the NYS mutual aid response system but were cancelled last minute due to all the career and volunteer firefighters that just showed up without notice. SO instead of turning them around they put them to work and had us stand-by.
But a week later, a local church had a memorial service for those lost that day and invited all of the FD's, EMS and Police agencies to attend. We were car pooling to the event and there were 7 of us in uniform standing in the open truck bay or our station waiting for more members to show. Across the street from us a couple emerged from their car slowly, and the woman had been crying, she looked at us and started to cry hysterically again. Her husband held her and they walked across the street as if in a funeral procession. They got to us and they both were crying at this point. She finaly told us (through her tears) that they wanted to thank us for helping strangers and doing what we did. That was all they said. They then hugged every one of us, a long hug, saying nothing else to us. Then they turned and walked a few feet away, and turned back and told us "God bless all of you and your families, I will never forget any of you again..." and they went back to their car....None of us talked, we just sat there dumbfounded until we finaly got up and piled into two cars and went to the ceremony, a little more somber then we were already, and the chief and 2 of us were even tearing up a bit.
One is more funny then serious; I went to a structure fire in my past department with my father. We arrived on scene in the first due engine to find it fully involved on the first and second floors with smoke pumping from the basement doors. I remember stretching a 2 1/2" line and was getting ready for water when i heard barking from the basement. I yelled to my father and the Lieutenant on scene to grab a tool and ran over to the door, it was locked on the inside. My father had a halligan and told me to cover him with the line. He forced the door open and quicker then either of us could react 5 dogs of various size raced out and ALL latched on to my fathers bunker pant leg, snarling and growling. I froze and didnt know what to do first when my father started Screaming "SHOOT THEM!!! SHOOT THE LITTLE BASTARDS!!!" while he tried to kick at them with his other leg. It was hysterical to watch as the Lt quickly fell to the ground laughing and wailing. I shot them with a quick blast from the line and they all took off into the woods behind the home. Hey...they were alive. We kept an eye out for them the rest of the time there and the owners tried calling to them but I guess they were afraid of their rescuers! They finally emerged from the woods during overhaul and the owners got them in the car ok and took them to the vet. No injuries for the dogs, but my fathers leg and pride...another story!!
My second call as an EMT-CC; It was on the Interstate during a freak ice storm that came out of nowhere. A pickup going 65 lost control on the ice, spun around 360 degrees 2 or 3 times and then slammed head-on into a tractor-trailer behind him that also lost control going 70...driver of the pickup was ejected and rolled 45 yards down the road, his truck looked like an accordian. Driver of the rig was pinned, both legs busted, ribs busted, head injury. I got out of the bus and ran to the guy that was ejected with the trauma bag and he took his last gurgling breath as I knelt next to him with the county paramedic (that just taught my class) with me. We tubed him, the medic did needle chest decompressions, started 3 large bores on him and packaged him up. He ended up flying out in the bird that was called for the rig driver but he was still pinned and being extricated by 2 FD's. 37 minutes later we got the driver out and flew him out on bird #2 that both landed right on the interstate. Both are alive and well today, a little handicapped but still breathing.
Last call to talk about but many more come to mind, its been 24 years...
I went to a house fire, 3rd department called for tanker and manpower. By the time we got there the main fire was knocked, so they had us check for extension. I was walking through the living room joking around with a guy I trained with from another department and I was just taking pictures and stuff off the wall and wrapping them in a blanket from the back of the couch. I grabbed a couple of dozen picture frames from the walls, I couldnt see what they were due to the soot. I took other items off shelves and tucked them in the couch cushions and did other salvage work too. We finished our sweep and came outside (with the blanket wrapped picture frames over my shoulder like santa) and I scanned the front yard for the owners. They were across the street with the neighbors on the lawn so I approached them. I gave them the blanket and told them I grabbed some things for them and protected a bunch of other stuff, and told them where I put it all. The wife looked at some of the frames and started to cry...hysterically...I didnt know if I should hug her or run and hide...then she looked at me and said "These are my wedding pictures of my grandparents, theyr'e very old, and these are my daughters graduation pictures, and this...(holding up a frame)...is my daughters birth certificate with hand and foot prints..." She hugged me and cried. The hubby shook my hand and said thank you about 2 dozen times. THAT, was the best call ever, even though the house was a loss, but their memories were saved. Almost as good as saving a life I guess.

Wow. so many different incidents that were memorable. Lots of pain, loss and some wonderful life changing calls. I liked the upbeat one that LTNRFD posted, so no fire, no blood, no death, but I like this one and LTNRFD was there:
Around 1982 or 83. LTNRFD, another EMT & myself at our VAC recieved a request for a nonemergency assist. We drove to the location and the women who called said her 75 year old father was just coming home from the hospital and she needed help caring him into the house.
We got the stair chair and walked around the car LTNRFD & I approached him and we both instantly recognized him. But LTNRFD di not know him like I did.
Sitting in the car was my boyhood idol; one of the finest sailors I had ever heard of. Arthur Knapp Jr. had won world championships, the America's Cup and almost every award there is in sailing. As a young teen I had memorized his book & writings on tactics. At 14 he coached me and helped me win a major regatta. At 15 I got to intern (school project) with him at Ratsey & Lapthorn Sailmakers and when I was 18 he asked me to crew with him and we won a major match racing series. I could not understand how he was so good and how he could manage because his health made it so he could barely move, but we did. That was only 2 or 3 years before this call.
He saw me and said how glad he was that I was there. We placed him on the stair chair and carried him in through the garage and up the basement stairs. The garage and stairs and whole house were covered in sailing trophys, they were everywhere.
We got him settled and said are goodbyes.
About an hour later he called the VAC and asked for me. he wanted to thank me, "marvin" (thats who he thought LTNRFD was) and the "cute one" and did I think she would go out on a date with him (she was about 18 at the time).
Thanks for asking for us to share, this was a lot better than many of the exciting calls.
http://www.herreshoff.org/achof/arthur_knapp_jr.html
http://library.mysticseaport.org/manuscripts/coll/coll357.cfm
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/17/sports/arthur-knapp-jr-85-champion-in-international-yacht-racing.html

So many calls, one of the few that did not involve someones loss of property, life or severe injury... In 1994, I had the pleasure of being part of crew that delivered a healthy baby boy in their house. I still remember going back out to the bus to get the stretcher when the Mount Pleasant PD officer on scene told his dispatch "A healthy baby boy was just delivered, I need the official time." The dispatcher responded "0113 hours". At that point the officer looked up, it was also his shield number.

Night shift working Engine 58 with my partner Tom Z received a call over the house phone from a 80 year old woman it was midnight. She lived in the former Life Saver's factory building now Condo's on north main street. It was late October and was a cold night. She tried the super she tried the police who told her to call the fire dept. there not doing anything so she called us. My partner talked to her and calmed her down and gave me the thumb's up [meaning were going somewhere] as I was the operator of the rig . The problem that night is she was cold , in fact freezing as the 5x 8 foot factory windows were to much for her to close. 3 minutes later we where there, we closed the big windows for her and got a big kiss and a hug from her. One of my best nights on the job a simple helping hand for some one unable to do a simple task. I always new I can count on the Firefighters to come to my call for help she said. As we left the call we did not say a word to each other all the way back to the firehouse as the grin on our faces would not allow it. The next night we got a call again on the house phone and again it was her. She asked if the guys that came out last night were still on duty and if so can they come to my house again, well we did thinking this might be a problem starting to happen [freaquent flier] we rang the door bell and was meet buy the best apple pie you ever saw. We have the greatest job in the world guy's don't mess it up .

On the EMS side....
While working for Abbey Richmond in White Plains on a Sunday morning back in the early 1980's. I was assigned as the paramedic on the transport ambulance and was told to return to the office. My EMT and I were told to go do a 2 man ambulette from Longview Nursing Home in W.P. to Grace Church on Main St in W.P.
We were told that there were no ambulette drivers working and the transport had to be done. When we arrived ( in an ambulette ) we found a 106 y.o. female named Clara Beech. She was allowed to leave the nursing home only once a year on her birthday, and for medical services. Clara was as alert as a 40 y.o. and could see as good as anyone thru her coke bottle thick glasses. She was packaged and wheeled out to the ambulette. As we got outside she broke out in a song of praise for the beautiful day the Lord gave her on her birthday. Now off to Grace Church we went. When we arrived you would had thought the Pope was coming to the church. The church was mobbed. We wheeled her into church all the way to the front where she was the center of attention, which she ate up.
We left her there and returned 2 hours later to take her back to the nursing home. To see the joy on this woman's face more then made up for the fact that an A.L.S. bus was taken out of service for an ambulette call.
Well if you think it ends here it only half over.
Fast forward 1 year. I was again working Abbey W.P. this time on Amb-1. When I reported for work I checked the transport booking slips for the day. Right on top was the slip for Clara to go to church for her 107th birthday. Again it would take the transport A.L.S. ambulance out of service. I told the Transport medic that I'd do the ambullete call and he cover the city. He thought I was nuts but he agreed.
When we walked into her room at the nursing home ( which was only about a 10 bed nursing home) she looked up saw me and greeted me by my first name. She then said "so you came back to take me to church on my 107th birthday". I could believe she remembered me.
Off to church we went again and there was another mob at the church for Clara's birthday.
When we picked her up for the return she asked if we could drive around a bit. We drove around W.P. for about 30 minutes as she gave us a guided tour of how W.P. use to be around the turn of the century. That's the 1800's into the 1900"s. She grew up in W.P.
I don't know what ever happened to Clara, but I think about those two birthday ambulette trips to church often.

I just aquired these from my father, his uncle took them in and around 1952..... photo credit to Robert Lindgren, FDNY.

I just aquired these from my father, his uncle took them in and around 1952..... photo credit to Robert Lindgren, FDNY.

I just aquired these from my father, his uncle took them in and around 1952..... photo credit to Robert Lindgren, FDNY.

Pictures taken from a scrapbook put together by Richard Cullen - during the time before/during/after he was President of the Volunter Firemans' Association of NYC in the 1880's-1890's.....

Worth the read.
Read more: http://wiseguyhorseracing.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/next-time-you-think-i-dont-like-cops/

I just aquired these from my father, his uncle took them in and around 1952..... photo credit to Robert Lindgren, FDNY.

I just aquired these from my father, his uncle took them in and around 1952..... photo credit to Robert Lindgren, FDNY.

I just aquired these from my father, his uncle took them in and around 1952..... photo credit to Robert Lindgren, FDNY.

I just aquired these from my father, his uncle took them in and around 1952..... photo credit to Robert Lindgren, FDNY.

I just aquired these from my father, his uncle took them in and around 1952..... photo credit to Robert Lindgren, FDNY.

Retirement? Don't you have to have worked in order to retire? It will seem a little less like home monitoring 60 and not hearing the familiar voice of 607.

I just aquired these from my father, his uncle took them in and around 1952..... photo credit to Robert Lindgren, FDNY.

I just aquired these from my father, his uncle took them in and around 1952..... photo credit to Robert Lindgren, FDNY.