firefighter questions

[firenewbie]

I'm in emt school now and its not going so well. I feel like everyone else has experience in the field and I don't. I may have to take the course again just because I don't understand some of it. When your a firefighter do you use your emt skills all the time? I really want to be a firefighter I'm just not great and confident in my emt skills. Should I still try to pursue this as a career?

[dmleblanc]

With some very rare exceptions, nowadays I'd say you'd be using your EMT skills way more often than your firefighting skills. Just the nature of things today, i.e. most fire departments are running more medical calls than fire calls. So yes, having decent EMT skills will be a necessity in just about any department you get on with.

Exactly what is it about the EMT class that you are having trouble with?

[35monroeffemt]

You will use your EMT skills far more than firefighter, unless you get with a dept that strictly runs fire which I don't think even exists anymore. Either way it really pays to have EMT skills. What if your at a structure fire and another firefighter gets hurt? Firefighting is awesome, but with all of the fire codes and fire prevention tactics fire suppresion is not as prevailant as it used to be. For example my dept runs 1300 calls a year, of that only about 100-200 are fire with the rest being ems, car accidents etc... What are you having trouble with? When started EMT school I was only 16 and I graduated at 17. I had absolutely no experience at all. Stick with it, it really pays to have the knowledge of an EMT especially if your going into the fire service at any level. If you need some help feel free to pm me or email meat station35firefighteremt@yahoo. com. Good luck, just hang in there and you will suceed.:)

[ElectricHoser]

There are still a few departments that do fire only, but I wonder what it is like for them when they see an EMS need and can't do anything about it.

One thing you have going for is that you recognize that you're struggling and you are looking for help. Don't give up, because you're likely to run into lots of stuff in the service that you don't grasp the first time. Stick with it, you don't want to get a reputation for giving up, and persevering a few times will boost your confidence a lot.

As part of EMT training, many programs require a certain number of hours working in a hospital ER. I've not yet run into an ER that couldn't find a way to put you to work as a an official volunteer in some capacity, especially if they know you from your EMT hours. This would be a good way to expose yourself in a practical way to the kind of stuff you might see on the EMS side, and will help you become more familiar and comfortable with it.

If you are comforatble with your instructor, let them know how you're feeling, and ask them if ER time is an option.

Keep your head up, you can do it.

[XRaysJL]

I know what your feeling. I was in the same position as you in my firefighter class. You are going to have to study and work twice as hard as your fellow students who've already had experience in that area to fall back on to comprehend what is being instructed.

Get with a study group. If there is none......form one. Study groups are great. Other students may re-word something that will help you to understand.

Practice. Practice on volunteers (If you can). See if you can borrow a dummy.

Both of these will help greatly.

[SWLAFireDawg]

Spending some time in the ER as mentioned above is a good choice, but you might also check with the local ambulance service and see if they allow "ride-alongs". This is another great way to see things first hand, just be sure to hold all your questions until AFTER the patient is stable and the Medic/EMT has time to breathe.

[firenewbie]

we have ride along but you have to pass all the test before you can go on one.

We're going through about 8 or 9 chapters aday. I'm close to passing its just I usually fail by a question or two

[firenewbie]

I might just try to be a cop. theres no medical involved

[firenewbie]

so if our department has paramedics in the ambulance at all times do you do alot of the life saving work as an emt?

[Firefighter2230]

I might just try to be a cop. theres no medical involved

Well good luck with that should I ever see you I will tell you two more points and you could have been a firefighter ;)

If you are going through 8-9 chapters in a day how long is this class that seems like to many to fit into one class.

[ElectricHoser]

so if our department has paramedics in the ambulance at all times do you do alot of the life saving work as an emt?

Yes. Paramedics only have two hands, and there's often a lot more work than two hands can keep up with. Then there are the MCI's where the patients outnumber the paramedics. There is always a place for an EMT with paramedics. It's like asking if a Chief needs firefighters. Yes.

[ElectricHoser]

I might just try to be a cop. theres no medical involved

Second warning. Don't establish yourself as a quitter if you have not really given it a chance. That can follow you forever.

Think it over carefully for a long time before you make a change.

[clark918]

I know it's tough man, but stick with it. I'm an EMT student right now as well. I'm not the best with some of the material. Last year in high school, I got a D in anatomy. However, we just took our first section test in class last night.(We split the book into 5 sections with a written and practical for each. We need an average of 78% to move onto the national registry exam.) I did great. I got an 86%. It feels great when you know that all of that hard work and pushing yourself paid off. Firefighter 1 was the same way. I couldn't get over the fact that I became state certified last semester. My main point is that you have to push yourself. Study more than usual. Because in the end when you are holding that certification in your hand, it'll all pay off and you'll really be proud of yourself.

[dmleblanc]

I might just try to be a cop. theres no medical involved

Wrong attitude, newbie. Do you really want to be a firefighter? You need to decide before you invest a bunch of time.

Remember, what do firefighters and cops have in common? They both want to be firefighters....:cool:

[firenewbie]

Wrong attitude, newbie. Do you really want to be a firefighter? You need to decide before you invest a bunch of time.

Remember, what do firefighters and cops have in common? They both want to be firefighters....:cool:

yeah i want to be one I guess I'm just nervous. I hate going to school though

[SWLAFireDawg]

I assume you are a fairly young person, so you might not have learned this yet.....


There are 2 things which will mean the most to you in life:

1. The things, or people, you can't get back

2. The things which were obtained or accomplished through great personal trial and effort

Both will be remembered when all else is forgotten, and the second will likely be the most remembered about you.

If you want it, you have to take it. Things which are handed to you easily are also easily dropped. I speak from personal experience. Don't be afraid to fail, be courageous enough to be persistent, and be foolish enough to never give up.

[CaptainGonzo]

yeah i want to be one I guess I'm just nervous. I hate going to school though


I was going to EMT school three nights a week while going through the fire academy...with homework from both every night of the week.

Kwitchyerbitchin, knuckle down and do it!

[doughesson]

I'm close to passing its just I usually fail by a question or two

In the Navy,I took an A school course to become a Boiler Technician and ended up scraping through by three points because I didn't study.I was literally the variation of the punch line"What do you call the guy that graduates last from BT/MM A school?" BT3(boiler technician 3rd class).Unfortunately,I didn't practice much as one and transferred to 1st Division and learned how to be a bosun instead.
Not saying you don't but like others said,getting EMT licensed takes constant study.It also sounds to me like the class is covering too much territory for the material to really sink in.
Just keep plugging away and don't be afraid to ask for a clearer explanation from the instructors.They're supposed to teach you the basics of being an EMT,not just getting massive quatities of students out the door to pass or fail on their own.

[SWLAFireDawg]

Just keep plugging away and don't be afraid to ask for a clearer explanation from the instructors.They're supposed to teach you the basics of being an EMT,not just getting massive quatities of students out the door to pass or fail on their own.

We are being taught by a working paramedic, who is actuall a member of our dept as well, and she is a state certified instructor.....what she told us was that when students fail to pass the national registry, it reflects on her. If her percentages of failing students gets too high, they will actualy revoke her certification as an instructor.

I'm not sure if it is only Louisiana that does this, or if it just because she is an individual instructor not associated with a school or paid company, but it makes sense. That is why we are going to go very slowly, and really hammer the practicals.

[res1cueffd]

Emt school was never designed to be a piece of cake. But as soon as you see that passing grade at the bottom of the NR grade sheet you really feel like you accomplished something. I attend regular training with our dept and work on the weekends and im taking 17 hours this semester in college. So dont complain about school, just knuckle down and get it done.

[35monroeffemt]

I might just try to be a cop. theres no medical involved

Sure there is, most of the time at car accidents the police are the very first responder on scene. Your going to look pretty bad if your just walking around with your thumb up your a$$ instead of helping the injured.

Also what if the police academy gets too tough? Are you just going to quit that and go into accounting or soemthing?

A quitter is not the way you want to be labeled and I would imagine you wouldn't like living that way, at least I know I wouldn't.

But the choice is yours, help is out there and you made the first step by realizing that and asking. Now it is just time for you to follow through.

DONT' GIVE UP!!!!!!!!!

[callaway75]

You will not pass EMT school, and can forget about National Registry if you don't plan on applying yourself and studying your A## off. EMT school is not that hard if you put forth the effort, and take it seriously, which you should be doing anyway because you will be the one people are getting when they call for help. If becoming a FF/ EMT were easy, everyone would do it, and then the job just wouldn't be quite as special. Keep your nose in the books, and you'll be fine.

P.S -- I have 8 cops in my family, and passing the Police Academy is a wee bit harder than EMT school, so forget that idea.

[ACfire1]

You don't know lost until during quick dress, everyone in my class had their gear on in 1 minute, and I was still trying to re-clip my suspenders that came loose. You don't know lost until there's six fellow classmates and three Firefighters trying to explain to me how to put my regulator on my facepiece and locking it in. Bottom line don't give up. I know the overwhelmed, these people are more experienced than me feeling. Basically stop thinking so much into it, thats what I've learned. At first I thought my EMT-I was overwhelming but its starting to come together now. However... the endotracheal intubation... I'm still working on that

[the1141man]

P.S -- I have 8 cops in my family, and passing the Police Academy is a wee bit harder than EMT school, so forget that idea.

True enough. I went to the Police Academy a couple years before EMT school, and of the two, the Police Academy was not only longer, but more physically and mentally demanding. EMT school didn't involve PT, for one. *LOL*

-If you can't memorize the basics of A&P, you won't be able to memorize penal and vehicle code sections and the particulars of each.
-If you can't apply knowledge of emergency care to properly assess and treat, you won't be able to apply knowledge of law to know whether the search you're about to do, or arrest you're about to make is legal.
-If you can't perform physical skills such as airway management, bleeding control, etc, as an EMT, you probably won't be able to perform physical skills such as handcuffing, searching, or building clearance.
-If you can't move a 200 lb guy in the EMS world, you have a partner to help, and if nothing else, get the Fire guys to come help out too. If you can't move a 200 lb guy in the LE world, expect a beating at the least, and your nearest "help" may be 5-10 minutes or more away...assuming you can get a call for help out on the air while you're getting your ass hammered.
-If you screw up a skill in the EMS world, your patient may die. Do it in the LE world, and you (or your partner) may die.

Yep, the Police Academy would so much easier... :rolleyes:

[SWLAFireDawg]

-If you can't move a 200 lb guy in the EMS world, you have a partner to help, and if nothing else, get the Fire guys to come help out too. If you can't move a 200 lb guy in the LE world, expect a beating at the least, and your nearest "help" may be 5-10 minutes or more away...assuming you can get a call for help out on the air while you're getting your ass hammered.
-If you screw up a skill in the EMS world, your patient may die. Do it in the LE world, and you (or your partner) may die.

Yep, the Police Academy would so much easier... :rolleyes:



Yeah....but cops get to carry guns....COOOOLL!!!!!!!


:D :D :D :D

[the1141man]

Yeah....but cops get to carry guns....COOOOLL!!!!!!!


:D :D :D :D

Corollary to this: at every call, there is at least one firearm (and several other possibly-lethal weapons) present.