Fire or EMS?

[mustang911]

Okay, around here it seems there is an animosity to riding the bus and the fire truck is the preference. What do you guys ride the most? It also seems like when we have an EMS call, we'll have an aide2 and driver but no aide1, or aide2 and aide1 but no driver and there are drivers( or aides) down at the fire hall(fire is seperate from EMS here) and we end up failing the call!:mad: what do you guys think?

[kghemtp]

Huh? Aide1 & aide2?

I'm a firefighter/paramedic, and that title earns me more time on an ambulance out of necessity. I can't say I've seen the animosity, as medical calls support so much of what we have here in the fire service. Do I love the big red trucks? Absolutely. Will I take one in the jimmies getting bumped off the engine or rescue because they need a paramedic? Absolutely. I bought this ticket myself, otherwise I would not have become a paramedic. Ya know what, I'm just one ingredient in the recipe for success. I do what my brothers need to keep the machine running smoothly. I cut the station grass & wash windows like everyone else, and I function as a firefighter when that needs to happen. We function in fire/rescue with each person contributing what he/she has to offer the group, and we get jobs done.

[mustang911]

sorry, only expecting Marylanders here, oh well aide 1 is the lead EMT on the call(right front seat usually) and the aide 2 and 3 are the guys in the back of the bus. Basiclly I'm speaking from experience. In order for us to go out the door, we have to have at least a driver and aide1. Now I'm only an aide2 because you have to be 18 to be an aide1 in my company. So most of time we fail because we have either a driver or aide1, but not the other. ANd I Know sometimes there are guys down at the fire hall that could help us, but don't! Oh well! :(

[EMTSteve]

We call our ambulance staff Driver, Aide and Third. Driver and Aide are the minimum staff for calls. The Third is usually an EMT student or a new EMT who hasn't been turned over to ride Aide.

[hwoods]

Driver and Aide are the norm, 3rd is a trainee, for the most part. We are a Fire Based System and there is a bit of whining sometimes about going on the "Bus". One BIG reason is the willful ABUSE of our public EMS operation by Health care facilities. These places call 911 for things that are CLEARLY not an Emergency, and expect us to handle it. Case in point: a Nursing Home calls at 02:25 hours to have an elderly lady taken to the hospital to get her elbow xrayed. The patient reportedly fell 4 DAYS EARLIER and her elbow started hurting now. This crap is the problem in my part of the world.

[sts060]

I signed up just to be an EMT, but added fire becuause by dept. needed more FFs (we're a combination service, and vollies can be EMS or fire/EMS).

I love both. Granted, riding the big red machine and stomping around in turnouts and SCBA is very cool. But you meet the most interesting :D people doing EMS, and you collect a lot of grateful smiles when you show up at 3 AM to help someone, even if it turns out they're just lonely or scared and not really sick or injured.

Sure, you get your share of nasty/messy/smelly stuff in EMS. But then you get to tell stories about it while people are eating, with embellishments as necessary. :cool:

[scrappy78]

I was an EMT for 6 years before getting bit by the fire bug. Being a live-in, and a former EMS-only member, I get stuck on the bus more than average, especially since I live at a substation and we don't get many vollies coming out to ride the bus with us. I much prefer the engine, for many reasons (no stupid nursing home calls, no stupid pt asking us to be doctors, carry x-rays, NO PAPERWORK!!!) But I am also in EMT-I class, so that means my time on the big white box will increase.

Then again, the original reason for me taking essentials was because I can't drive the ambo, and I felt bad about only filling one slot. It is easier for the main station to send out an aide only, than an aide and driver. SO if they send an aide only, I can ride 3rd on the wagon, and teh career 3rd can drive. (until i grow enough to reach the gas and brake pedals confortably taht is...):p

Scrappy
______________________________ ______________________________ ______

IACOJ

"Your mileage may vary."

[FIRE43EMT]

Our Fire and Ambulance Companys are seperate organizations. The year before I joined, the EMS side got their own building and moved out, taking their blood buckets with um. I joined the EMS co first, because at the time, you had to be 21 to join the FD and only 18 to join the EMS. The year after I joined the FD, they did lower the age to 18, and now we've added cadets, so we're getting there. But back to the topic...I definately ride the engine or truck. I'm a LT now in the FD, so I definately take the fire side. I have, tho, had to assist the EMS by driving (shoot, just last week I went from IC on a rollover to Ambo driver). Now, I still run my medical calls both as a driver and EMT-B, but if the fire trucks goin, I'm on it...not the meat wagon...CoDean

[TillerMan25]

EMS is the last three letters of the word ProblEMS.

[hwoods]

Originally posted by TillerMan25
EMS is the last three letters of the word ProblEMS.


You would know........ :D