David Lee Roth, EMT?

[WAS967 97]

Supposedly from the NY Post, but I have no reference. (Received by email)

David Lee, NYC EMT 

AMBULANCE CHASER: David Lee Roth    Legendary rocker David Lee Roth, the 

famed  front man for the '80s megaband Van Halen, is apparently reinventing 

himself as an emergency medical technician. 

The other night at the Four Seasons restaurant, the 48-year-old  millionaire 

musician revealed to dinner companions that he has been living  in a modest 

apartment on the lower East Side and showing up most days for  EMT training. 

"I used to be a surgical orderly in South Central L.A.," he told me 

yesterday. "I started that when I got out of junior college in the early  '70s, and 

that led to a variety of things in the outdoor medical fire  force and training 

with the Green Berets. ... My father was a surgeon and  uncles and my cousins 

were also in the medical community, so I come by it  natural." 

Roth, who said he has relocated to New York from his estate in  Pasadena, 

Calif., specifically to train as an EMT, said he hopes to obtain  his 

certification in November and work as a volunteer one weekend per  month. 

"I want to be working in the outer boroughs. This city promises great  color 

and insight in each and every neighborhood," Roth said. "On the  upper East 

Side, it's gonna be heart attacks and stomach aches. But in  other 

neighborhoods, it's all trauma." 

Presumably Roth won't be singing "Jump!" to a distraught person on a  ledge. 

He said he started his EMT training last Friday under the auspices of  New 

York safety consultant Linda Reissman. "She's got a  résumé as long as your 

femur," Roth said. "That's a medical joke." 

Speaking of jokes, fellow diner Lawrence Robins asked  Roth at the table: 

"What would happen if you ended up having to work a  rock concert and deal with 

somebody who had overdosed? Can you imagine the  reaction when they saw you 

putting the oxygen mask on them?" 

Roth, according to Robins, replied, "You know, it's funny, we've  actually 

discussed what would happen if I rescued a Van Halen fan." 

Yesterday Roth - who has been very low key about his new pursuit -  demurred, 

"You're getting way off on a tangent, my friend. My dream would  be to save a 

Scandinavian  hikerette."

[Guest DADAY]

He can come ride with me anytime. I bet doing a call with him would be awesome.

[Guest]

I bet he wouldn't have much of a problem making his patients feel comfortable - or will he? I guess fans of his would love it and those who didn't like him will not....

[x635 4,066]

From what I've heard, hes ridden with a member of this board during his training.

Medic Rocks With Docs

Courtesy of New York Post

Legendary Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth has stopped "runnin' with the devil" to do God's work - riding ambulances in gritty neighborhoods throughout the city to become a paramedic. The famed rocker has cut his trademark blond mane and dropped his celebrity persona so he can ride unrecognized with ambulance crews in The Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn several nights a week. 

Several weeks ago, the charismatic crooner saved the life of a Bronx woman who had a heart attack by shocking her back to life with a defibrillator. 

The Post caught up with Roth last week as the 1980s icon grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza after sitting for hours in an ambulance waiting for a call. 

Just three days earlier, he had played to an adoring rock-'n'-roll crowd in Minnesota. 

Roth, 49, initially expressed reservations about discussing his latest endeavor because he felt publicity "would diminish what I am trying to do here." 

But the following day, he told The Post more about his new passion. 

"I have been on over 200 individual rides now," Roth told The Post. "Not once has anyone recognized me, which is perfect for me." 

"It has been an eye-opening adventure," said Roth, who asked The Post not to disclose which "very colorful neighborhoods" he works in because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself or his colleagues. 

Linda Reissman, Roth's EMS consultant and tutor, said she didn't know what to expect of her famous pupil at first, but "he has probably turned out to be one of the best students I have ever had." 

"I am amazed," said Reissman, who is training Roth for Brooklyn-based company Emergency Care Programs Inc. 

Reissman described Roth as very studious, punctual and hungry for knowledge. 

"He is very serious," she said. "You would never know you were dealing with a rock-'n'-roll guy, his commitment really is touching. He wants to help people." 

The singer, who is used to being onstage in a packed arena, sees at least one similarity in his two careers. 

"I am a member of a team again, and that's what a rock band always was," Roth said.

[TR54 239]

If it was Jon Bon Jovi,,,,,, the fans would be dying just to meet him. LOL

[RWC130 594]

I hear he is doing his ride time with FDNY, OLM, and a few others.

[Guest]

My would I care, what the hell that drugie is doing, other than talking jobs away from EMT's!

[Guest EMSwhitecloud]

My boyfriend works in the 47 in the Bronx and said that he came in one day to pick up a perp....weird thought....

[Guest WolfEMT]

David Lee Roth in the Good Ole Boogie Down Bronx...never thought I'd ever see that happening!

[Truck4 48]

I think x635 would be much more interested if it were James Hetfield riding with a Westchester VAC. Then again, that would be the most un-metal thing since Hetfield cut his hair.

[Guest WolfEMT]

I don't know too much about the VACs in Westchester, but I'd be willing to say that they probably have policies against having sellouts in their membership...I guess that counts Hetfield out, and this is coming from a Metallica fan, too.

[Guest]

I work in the 47 in the Bronx and have seen him twice....Once to pick up a perp in our house and once in the field picking up an aided for chest pains...Very nice guy and very professional...He was riding for OLM as an attendant....Gotta get a good look..He tries to hide his identity by wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses......

[x648eng119 2]

I think it's pretty cool what he's doing, as long as he's doing it for the right reasons. If it's a publicity stunt, i disagree with it. PDT_Armataz_56