Newbie Advice...

[intraining]

hey all, i have just become an "official" volunteer for one of my local departments, and was just wondering if you had any advice that might help me do the best job that i can. i had my first official day yesterday and did pretty well, but would love to hear from those of you with more experience. we went on four calls yesterday while i was there, including a MVA that i helped backboard and load a patient.. i am loving every minute of it, but know i can learn so much more. i already know about shutting up and listening to what i am told, following my O.I.C's lead, doing whatever is asked of me, and i have been going round and round the truck learning exactly where everything is located and what it does and/or is used for, but know that there is more that i could do. thanks in advance for any advice....

[Trafficjockey93]

Welcome Aboard!!

You have answered your own question several times over. Read your post and observe everything you said, especially, mouth shut and ears open. Also remember that the ONLY dumb question is the one not asked. There are no dumb questions in the Fire Service, only people who have heard them before. Don't be intimidated by other people making fun of questions you ask. They don't know everthing either and if they say they do they are full of it. Keep you wits about you all the time. Look out for number 1, YOU. Remember scene safety at all times, do not just rush in. Do not get Tunnel Vision, observe the whole picture.
Training Training Training,in house, fire schools, whatever, You can never get enough training.
It's not only important to learn where all the equipment is stored and what it is used for. Now you need to learn how to use it.

Good Luck and Welcome to the Brotherhood.

[kghemtp]

As mentioned, ask questions, the more the better. Read about topics, here, other publications, and ask about them or bring new concepts with you to meetings. Emergency services is all about innovation, the MacGyver approach to handling situations. NFPA & National Registry tell us how textbook stuff gets handled, but fires & patients don't read the textbook to know how they should present! Take care, and good luck!

~Kevin
FF/Paramedic

[intraining]

Originally posted by kghemtp
but fires & patients don't read the textbook to know how they should present!
~Kevin
FF/Paramedic

lol... how true!!! on my first MVA that i was actually allowed to help with since i wasn't a ride-a-long any longer was SO different than what you read about or train for..... i mean, obviously the basics are the same, but it is always a different situation and a different way of doing things....

[FightingDevil]

Can I get an AMEN!!

Originally posted by Trafficjockey93
...Training Training Training,in house, fire schools, whatever, You can never get enough training.
It's not only important to learn where all the equipment is stored and what it is used for. Now you need to learn how to use it.

Good Luck and Welcome to the Brotherhood.

Yup....in a word: TRAINING. I too am rather new, 6+ months with my current dept., (but 4 years at others). I just passed my FFI and without the weekly (and more for exam prep) training that my station does, it wouldn't have been possible! Keep your eyes open, don't be afraid to ask (and answer) questions and be prepared to roll a lot of hose and wash a lot of trucks!!

Welcome!!

-Devil

[Trafficjockey93]

FightingDevil, Congratulations on passing your FFI

[FightingDevil]

Thanks!!

Thanks TrafficJockey93!!

Stay Safe!!!

[rcrompm46]

Actually your screen name shows that you are already on the right track. What you have to remember is that you will be intraining until you leave this great occupation.

Congratulations on making your 1st calls.

[intraining]

Originally posted by rcrompm46
Actually your screen name shows that you are already on the right track. What you have to remember is that you will be intraining until you leave this great occupation.

Congratulations on making your 1st calls.

thanks!! yeah, i am learning more and more every day and loving it... won't be too hard to keep my ears open and my mouth shut, especially at the level i am at right now....

[Jedimike007]

Some good advice so far. Also, don't act you know everything. No one likes a newbie who tries to act like they've been there for years. And I don't think it's a good idea to participate in pranks right now (if the dept. is big on that). You'll have to earn rights to those kinds of things. Just remember you can't act like everyone else until you've been there a while. It's that way with all rookies.

Just know that things around the fire house are done in fun. There is nothing like firefighting and the friendships that come from it. I hope you like!

[Dushore5741]

Calls are never "textbook cases"...

If it can go wrong it will go wrong...

I recall being dispatched for a garage fire, the ambulance, being able to handle the back roads better than something carting 2,500 gallons of water, arrived first. I was walking across a field toward the fire, I seen a little bit of fire in the garage, so i figured an extinguisher would do it. I heard the siren of the "fire truck" (milk holding tank w/ portable pump, the kind where the glass bulb needs to be filled first) operated by some private land owners approaching, so i turned around and looked to see how close they were. I heard a pop, turned to see the whole, 2 story house fully consumed... The propane tank valves blew off. If I'd have kept walking, chances are I wouldn't be telling you this. Luckily, the fire mostly burned the outside of the house and most belongings were saved, although it was concidered a loss b/c of load-bearing structural damage.

As for the EMS part. My first call for seizures, a routein call, frequent flier. Walked in the door, and realized that this was somthing i'd never forget. No seizures here, just your normal run-of-the-mill murder-suicide. Well, almost. The one who was supposed to be murdered was brought back by-- and you never hear many in the business say this-- a goddamn miracle! One dead, one w/ seven GSW's. The first person in arrest that I ever assisted w/ that actually survived and you can't even tell anything happened.

I don't know how a perfectly healthy man can go into cardiac arrest and we can't do anything. Yet a person can lose at least 3 pints of blood, added with a sucking chest wound, major aterial damage, and internal ABD injuries; go into arrest w/ no CPR just A/R, b/c of chest injuries and come back and be absolutely fine...

I like to think of this as a lesson in Scene Safety... Always look twice and watch your back and the guy in front of you. It's about the safety of you and the crew... Not what kind of gloves you put on

lol... Is the scene safe, BSI!