Am I addicted to the rush.......?

[SWLAFireDawg]

This was a poorly worded opening statement.......so I reworded it below.

[dday05]

I find myself "wanting" the pager to go off......doesn't matter if it is a medical call, vehicle accident, or fire. I want to feel the adrenaline rush.....

Does it ever go away? Or does it always remain a sort of "high", just like deer hunting?:p

Anyone else feel this way all the time?


You need to calm down,before you possibly hurt some one. And watch saying stuff like in your first sentence.Stuff like that can come back and haunt you. Take care and good luck in your fd.

[SWLAFireDawg]

Please don't take it wrong, I do not mean to imply that I act recklessly or impulsively. Just that it feels really good to help people in need, and it does create an endorphine/adrenaline rush.

[2andfrom]

Once you get over the first 250/300 calls(and if you are at a busy station-it won't take long) you will hate the bloody bells going down-not because you hate the job, its just that you are responding to some poor buggers tragedy.

[SWLAFireDawg]

I see what you mean. And it did read in a very ugly way I guess. I don't want someone to get hurt, or suffer a tragedy. Perhaps it was poorly worded as an opening statement.

Perhaps this would have been better:

I am enjoying the feeling of "goodness" I get when I respond to a call.....be it medical, accident, or fire. While I do not enjoy other people's misfortune, it does my spirit good to know that I can help those in need. I also enjoy the adenaline rise I get when anticipating what lies ahead after the pager goes off.

I hope the good feeling never goes away.........:)

[2andfrom]

I hope the good feeling never goes away.........:)[/QUOTE]

That is why after being out of the job for more time that I was in(20 yrs career/paycheck bandit) I still snoop around Fire Service forums--it is called being proud of your small contribution.

[fireman4949]

If you truly love this job, you never get enough!;)

I work at a busy house...Many days running 20, or more calls.
After 16 years of doing this, I still get a rush every time the tones drop!:D

If I ever get to the point that I dread going on another call, I'll know it's time to hang up the helmet.




Kevin:D

P.S. I can see this thread going the way of the "Do you want fires" one that was beat to death a while back.:p

[ElectricHoser]

Every time the tones drop, one of the following things is almost always true:

(1) Someone is injured or dying
(2) Someone's stuff is being destroyed

Wanting the tones to drop and knowing that the cost of the rush is that one of those things is happening to some innocent chump you probably don't even know.... that is not a faithful reflection on why we do what we do.

Once you get past the rush of being the hero arriving in glory to restore order, and arrive at accepting the basic obligation and responsibility to help those in need - that is to say, once you can discern the difference - you''ll look back and regret feeling the way you do.

But it it's probably not your fault. Most of us go through that. Just think about what has to happen to someone for you to get your rush, and hopefully you'll be cured soon enough.

[ElectricHoser]

After 16 years of doing this, I still get a rush every time the tones drop! :D

If I ever get to the point that I dread going on another call, I'll know it's time to hang up the helmet.

Yes, well said, the difference is wanting the rush versus enjoying it. I don't wish for a call, but I enjoy knowing I am one of the guys who get called when crap happens, no one else knows what to do, and they call us to fix it.

[SWLAFireDawg]

Once you get past the rush of being the hero arriving in glory to restore order, and arrive at accepting the basic obligation and responsibility to help those in need - that is to say, once you can discern the difference - you''ll look back and regret feeling the way you do.

But it it's probably not your fault. Most of us go through that. Just think about what has to happen to someone for you to get your rush, and hopefully you'll be cured soon enough.

I think that really does explain it for my position. It is new to me, and it is exciting. Perhaps I haven't truly made the connection yet as to this is real world, or to the true tragedy of it. And I do believe that most, if not all, firefighters/medics go through the rush addiction if you will at some point or another. Yes, perhaps it is sad to enjoy it at someone's expense.

I sure hope this does not turn into a bash fest. There has been some great comments, and it is making me think a lot more on why I feel this way and if it is healthy to feel that way.

What appears to be the controversial portion in these types of threads is the difference between the enjoyment of fighting fires and responding to emergencies, from the realization that a tragedy is occuring or has occured and the depression or guilt which may follow the initial rush.

While I state I enjoy the rush, I hope it is not misconstrued as meaning I enjoy tragedy. But, it is sort of like a bad train wreck.....you hate to look, but you do anyways.

[ChicagoFF]

P.S. I can see this thread going the way of the "Do you want fires" one that was beat to death a while back.:p

You rang? I still want a fire every day!

[fireman4949]

You rang? I still want a fire every day!

Right on, Brother! So do I :D :D :D

[engine13A]

I'd start all over again today if I could!!! :D

[doughesson]

I used to live a quarter mile from my volunteer station so I'd ride my bike when the tones dropped.I'd burn off all that pesky adrenaline just getting to the house to the point where we'd be getting on scene and the LT would holler"Someone wake Doug up!"so I could do my assignment.
Yes,we only respond when someone's day is going to Hades in a handbag but we want to show off our skills and compassion.It's nothing to be ashamed of.I am sure those who are truly good at the job and proud of it will be forgiven for their sin.

[jeneric]

Like a previous poster mentioned, wait until after your first few hundred calls. You will despise it going off. Especially when you and the usual gang end up being the only ones to show for the early morning call and half of them leave to go to their other jobs leaving you to clean gear, fill bottles, put new hose on the truck. that gets old real fast!

When my father was chief, i was about 4 so the fire department was all that I knew. When i started running myself, i did get the adrenaline rush but it wasn't so much for the call to happen but more for getting myself ready for the task at hand.

I lived in a small community of about 4000 people and when you tend to know a large percentage of them, you dont want to hear tones at all because it was never good.

About the only calls that I enjoyed going to were field fires because chances are, the owner started it to burn off the grass to begin with. For the most part they were safe (just remember to stay in the Black!)

Take care.

Eric

[SWLAFireDawg]

About the only calls that I enjoyed going to were field fires because chances are, the owner started it to burn off the grass to begin with. For the most part they were safe (just remember to stay in the Black!)

Take care.

Eric


Man, we get our fair share of those......and sugar cane field fires that back up to somebody's mobile home and they get nervous.....I guess I would too.

[jeneric]

I just could never figure out why people always decided to burn off their fields on the windiest day of the year :)

[WaterbryVTfire]

Its okay to be excited, just RELAX when you get to the station/on scene. Take a breath. We ALL have been where you are (or still).

[jeneric]

I can remember the days of training at the hall, mere feet from our engines and the tone drop and people crashing over top of each other trying to make a truck....that still brings a smile to my face :)

[doughesson]

I just could never figure out why people always decided to burn off their fields on the windiest day of the year :)

There's a synapse in the brain that tells people not to do stupid stuff like that.I think it fails on windy days and during the burn ban season in Kentucky.One day on my old vollie department outside of Paducah,we had 5 calls in an hour,and we were the lightest loaded department that day.

[DonSmithnotTMD]

Every time the tones drop, one of the following things is almost always true:

(1) Someone is injured or dying
(2) Someone's stuff is being destroyed

Wanting the tones to drop and knowing that the cost of the rush is that one of those things is happening to some innocent chump you probably don't even know.... that is not a faithful reflection on why we do what we do.



That stuff is gonna happen anyway. I might as well be there.

[fireman4949]

Every time the tones drop, one of the following things is almost always true:

(1) Someone is injured or dying
(2) Someone's stuff is being destroyed

Wanting the tones to drop and knowing that the cost of the rush is that one of those things is happening to some innocent chump you probably don't even know.... that is not a faithful reflection on why we do what we do.

Once you get past the rush of being the hero arriving in glory to restore order, and arrive at accepting the basic obligation and responsibility to help those in need - that is to say, once you can discern the difference - you''ll look back and regret feeling the way you do.

But it it's probably not your fault. Most of us go through that. Just think about what has to happen to someone for you to get your rush, and hopefully you'll be cured soon enough.

That's pure B.S.!

There's not a damn thing wrong with wanting to go on a call! That, my friend, IS a "faithful reflection" of what we do! We WANT to help!

Did we start the fire?
Did we cause the wreck?
Did we cause the stroke, or the MI, or the seizure?

No! We didn't!

What we did was swear to protect the public by providing fire and emergency services to all.

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with wanting to respond to a call. And when the tones do drop, the adrenaline had better be pumping, otherwise your either burned out in this job, or you don't care about doing it in the first place.

I want everyone on my unit to be a little pumped up on every call. If they're not, they fit into one of the two categories above.

I don't regret for an instant, wanting to go to a good call. That is, after all, what I signed on for!;)




Kevin:D

P.S. See, I told you this thread would go the way of the "Do you want fires" thread!:rolleyes:

[fireman4949]

Every time the tones drop, one of the following things is almost always true:

(1) Someone is injured or dying
(2) Someone's stuff is being destroyed

Wanting the tones to drop and knowing that the cost of the rush is that one of those things is happening to some innocent chump you probably don't even know.... that is not a faithful reflection on why we do what we do.

Once you get past the rush of being the hero arriving in glory to restore order, and arrive at accepting the basic obligation and responsibility to help those in need - that is to say, once you can discern the difference - you''ll look back and regret feeling the way you do.

But it it's probably not your fault. Most of us go through that. Just think about what has to happen to someone for you to get your rush, and hopefully you'll be cured soon enough.

That's pure B.S.!

There's not a damn thing wrong with wanting to go on a call! That, my friend, IS a "faithful reflection" of what we do! We WANT to help!

Did we start the fire?
Did we cause the wreck?
Did we cause the stroke, or the MI, or the seizure?

No! We didn't!

What we did was swear to protect the public by providing fire and emergency services to all.

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with wanting to respond to a call. And when the tones do drop, the adrenaline had better be pumping, otherwise your either burned out in this job, or you don't care about doing it in the first place.

I want everyone on my unit to be a little pumped up on every call. If they're not, they fit into one of the two categories above.

I don't regret for an instant, wanting to go to a good call. That is, after all, what I signed on for!;)




Kevin:D

P.S. See, I told you this thread would go the way of the "Do you want fires" thread!:rolleyes:

[ChicagoFF]

Every time the tones drop, one of the following things is almost always true:

(1) Someone is injured or dying
(2) Someone's stuff is being destroyed

Wanting the tones to drop and knowing that the cost of the rush is that one of those things is happening to some innocent chump you probably don't even know.... that is not a faithful reflection on why we do what we do.

Once you get past the rush of being the hero arriving in glory to restore order, and arrive at accepting the basic obligation and responsibility to help those in need - that is to say, once you can discern the difference - you''ll look back and regret feeling the way you do.

But it it's probably not your fault. Most of us go through that. Just think about what has to happen to someone for you to get your rush, and hopefully you'll be cured soon enough.
Wow, get over yourself. I have plenty of opportunities every day to witness the human condition, the misery that people get themselves into, the violence, the poverty, the hopelessness, the drugs, the crime, the senseless waste of life, the complete loss of property, the dead end houses filled with hungry, ignored children - the next generation. And you know what? I love going to work! As I said in the "other" thread - as we were cruising around in the engine one day, I commented on what a good looking three flat we were passing. One of our guys answered "It would look better with fire blowing out every window!" We all laughed, agreed, and understood. Apparently you don't. If you don't want to go to fires maybe you should consider being a plumber. It's embarassing when a fireman goes all weepy like that. :rolleyes:

[JHR1985]

But everytime a house burns down... someone loses their possesions and all their life achivement....




yeah.....


but its still really really cool

[ElectricHoser]

Some of you guys missed my point.

I love being a fireman, and I love riding a BRT to the scene as much as anyone. But I hope you would agree that none of us wish for bad things to happen to anyone just so we can go do a job. Do you want your family to get in a fiery crash on the interstate just so the brothers nearby can go on a "good job"?

Wanting mayhem and disasters is distasteful, and frankly it is on the slippery slope to making your own jobs.

We're splitting hairs, but do not presume to call my desire for everyone being safe "BS". :mad: :mad:

[fireman4949]

Some of you guys missed my point.

I love being a fireman, and I love riding a BRT to the scene as much as anyone. But I hope you would agree that none of us wish for bad things to happen to anyone just so we can go do a job. Do you want your family to get in a fiery crash on the interstate just so the brothers nearby can go on a "good job"?

Wanting mayhem and disasters is distasteful, and frankly it is on the slippery slope to making your own jobs.

We're splitting hairs, but do not presume to call my desire for everyone being safe "BS". :mad: :mad:

Get a grip, Brother. Your way off here.

Why the hell can't people differentiate the desire to go on a good job, from "wanting mayhem and disaster" to befall anyone. I don't WISH harm to come to anyone, but I sure as hell want to be there if it does.:D

Apparently, you assume that I WISH people's homes and businesses burn, or that they become heavily trapped in a twisted, mangled vehicle accident. According to your logic, I am apparently just one step away from becoming an arsonist.:mad: Sigmund Freud, you ain't!:rolleyes:

It's not B.S. to want everyone to be safe...It IS however, B.S. to assume that I, or anyone else here wants the opposite!

[XRaysJL]

Get a grip, Brother. Your way off here.

Why the hell can't people differentiate the desire to go on a good job, from "wanting mayhem and disaster" to befall anyone. I don't WISH harm to come to anyone, but I sure as hell want to be there if it does.:D

Apparently, you assume that I WISH people's homes and businesses burn, or that they become heavily trapped in a twisted, mangled vehicle accident. According to your logic, I am apparently just one step away from becoming an arsonist.:mad: Sigmund Freud, you ain't!:rolleyes:

It's not B.S. to want everyone to be safe...It IS however, B.S. to assume that I, or anyone else here wants the opposite!

The way I see it is there's 2 problems here.

1st.= Viewing text here on this web site you lose about 75% of the communication (50% = Body language / 25% = Voice tone / 25% = What words are spoken). These numbers are probably not exact but the message is clear on this.

2nd.= This can be a sensative subject.



Both of these are very important here.

[ElectricHoser]

Thanks for the level response, XRays.....I tried to allude to that when I mentioned we were splitting hairs, but you got it right.

I have no doubt that when the tones drop, we would all be pumped and gladly jump on the same truck together.

[fireman4949]

I have no doubt that when the tones drop, we would all be pumped and gladly jump on the same truck together.

Well then, I guess we're all playing the same song, after all.;)

Stay safe Brother!




Kevin:D

[enginegirl1]

I don't like anyone being hurt. I don't like anyone losing their property. But
I LOVE jumping on that truck:
1) so if someone is hurt, we get them help as quickly as we can, and
2) to put that fire out so they lose as little as possible.

We see over and over again on these forums how much everybody loves this job. So let that adrenaline flow, so we can get to the scene and do what we love to do.

Amy

[zgcapital]

Hey the rush is a great thing but as many have said you don't want to be branded as an junky. I had this same problem when I first got on my dept and was branded now two years later I still haven't over come it and the worst part it it wasn't the general public or the law that ever called me in, but it was a select group of guys on my own squad. So like I said the Rush doesn't ever go away at least not for me I've just learned to re-direct that energy into helping those in need.

[DeputyMarshal]

but its still really really cool

No, it isn't "cool". It's somebody's personal tragedy.

It's one thing to love your job and look forward to doing it well. Thinking that fires are "cool" is another.

[XRaysJL]

I don't think anyone here thinks that someone getting hurt or losing their house due to a fire is "Cool". I think it comes down to the communication problem (Earlier post).

I think we all want to do our job we spend so much time training for and we also want to do it well.

[FireResQ2382]

This job is definetly a "double edged sword" so to speak. We get excited about going on calls, we all enjoy a good fire or a "nice wreck" to work on extricating someone, yet in any case we never want to see anyone hurt or see anyones property or belongings destroyed. I think it is ok to get excited about that stuff, we took on this job to do something to help in these situations. I feel that if I get to the point where I am no longer excited about coming to work or going on calls than maybe I should consider doing something else. Just my two cents

[XRaysJL]

That was very nicely put FireResQ2382

[VinnieB]

Yeah...22 runs in a 24 hour tour.....Gas Leak, CO, EMS, Food on the Stove...yeah...a real "rush". Unless the dispatcher comes over and says, "Numerous calls, we're giving you rescue and squad....etc etc" or if its a stacked ticket from the start.....there is no "rush".

[SWLAFireDawg]

YEAH, but I ain't that lucky, thankfully.........:p

[2andfrom]

Yeah...22 runs in a 24 hour tour.....Gas Leak, CO, EMS, Food on the Stove...yeah...a real "rush". Unless the dispatcher comes over and says, "Numerous calls, we're giving you rescue and squad....etc etc" or if its a stacked ticket from the start.....there is no "rush".



What he said. If you are at a station that turns a wheel once in a blue moon and you see a corpse once a year, washing down the road to get rid of spilled petrol, is party time.

Couple of "crispy critters" every day--mixed in with a decent car crash(but only if there is kids involved)--a suicide off a bridge(but only a high one)--a burnt out house--every day--thats real cool.
Yes -you do the job cos thats what you are trained for--But after a while your "Whoopee, here we go again-big grin" is replaced with "Oh, sh#t-not again"

You will note the "sarky" button is activated