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We're not animals because animals don't kill for vengeance. The animals are one up on us.

So as I read alot of the forums here about the vollies in any form and alot of it is negative. I have always been proud of our Volunteers as they really do so much for out community. I would like to share with all of you my personal opinion of our service. Starting in Sept 09 my 17 year old son decided it would be a good idea to have a bad attitude. Not to much different from other teenagers or my other sons. He was doing poorly in school, not being the young man that my husband and I were raising. He was drinking, and fighting. We did alot of the conventional consiquences, the same as other parents. We yelled and screamed, took things away, and made him do things he didnt enjoy like spend time with us. All of these things just made everyone envoled depressed and cranky and we found ourselves really not liking the other. In November at 11:00pm we heard a knock on the door and it was our friend Mike. He had just driven our son to the emergency room because he had the crap knocked out of him. I got dressed and went down to pick him up and I was not a happy camper. When I went into the room the nurse (who was new and freindly) asked my son if he need any help getting off of the bed because his mother was here to pick him up. My son had somehow twisted his ankle in this fight and that was the chief complaint and the booze on his breath was good ole Capt Morgans. I piped up dont you dare hand him his sock or his shoe, if he wants to be a prick he can do it himself, the nurses face just dropped. They gave him crutches and I took them away and told his buddy to be his crutch to the truck. I had a set of my own crutches at home he could have. He was sick and in pain the next day so I let him be in his room so he could continplate life and the road that he was choosing to go down. Now my son was not the only one in the group that was choosing that road. All of the fathers got together and made the decision that these kids were going join the VFD as jrs. This part of the program had been dormant for many years as the kids didnt want anything to do with the Fire Department. Now each child has gone through training and they have all turned themselve around. One wants to be a cop, one a rcmp officer, one a nurse and my son has been accepted into the Vancouver Art Instituted for the music program. All of the attitudes have changed and they are actually normal human beings. I have to thank our fire department for having the patients and the love for my child and the others to be a big part of their lives and show them what life can be about. They know that there may be a time in their lives that they will have to rely on others to save them and they have learned what true friendship is all about. I would like to share so pics that I have down loaded of these guys and girls so you can see the smiles that a VFD can give your own children. Please remember this to me is a happy subject and about our fire department. If yours dosnt do this then maybe you show these pics and this post to convince them that any JR fire department can make a big differnce. Please also share your stories and pics. here is my photobucket enjoy and let me know if it doesnt show I will check tommorrow http://s231.photobucket.com/albums/ee123/princess_happiness/Masset%20VFD/

Speaking as having served in both career, in the beginning, and then mostly voluntary, I've never met anyone either working in or volunteering in EMS, that didn't have a passion for it. Sure, some are a little more into doing their personal best, but they all had a strong passion for it. As far as education, EMT's and First Responders. The highest being EMT, even when I was paid, the training is the same. Either way, you're the taking the same class, the same Con-Ed. However, I had more time with the patient, as a volunteer, because my primary function as a career EMT, was to drive. As far as who to thank for EMS as we know it. It could be a lot worse. Funeral Directors and Private Services, Fire Departments, Resuscitator Squads, Volunteers, Corpsmen and Combat Medics, Military Doctors and Nurses on battlefields all around the world, Rotary, Lions, KoC, Boy Scouts, all sorts of tiny organizations and big clubs in small towns and the suburbs of America; General Store owners at cross roads in the Canadian Wilderness and the American West alike... all could be thanked for EMS Developing to what we now know. Yeah, it's all behind. I've been so frustrated with it sometimes. I wish every officer in charge of an EMS organization, had an education is management of a business. Wow.. I had more to say, but my allergy pills have me feeling like I'm hanging upside down... So... anyhoo.

Wow so only way we could be worse off is if we had no EMS? Honestly with the low standards, educational and others, most USA medics, including myself despite higher education, could never even get on an ambulance in many countries unless as a patient. But I do not blame the vollys for all of it. But back to the VFD of the OP. Excellent example of how young people can be shown how to become productive.

Next time a gang banger starts shooting my way I'll just holler hey stop I'm allergic to bullets and they will stop shooting.

Volunteer Departments are the backbone of EMS in America. The problem with Volunteer's is that they're volunteers. They're not required to participate in all of the training that a typical career EMS provider goes through. They also don't run the call volume that paid services do. EMS is not typically their passion or career choice, but they do it because if they didn't, who else would? As a state regulator, I see many different kinds of agencies. I see good and bad volunteer agencies and I see good and bad paid agencies. Volunteer's most generally do the best they can with the resources they have. Sometimes they knock it out of the park and other times they do just enough to get by. I can say that of some paid agencies. Do the best you can to thank them for their valuable service and encourage them to improve in areas of weakness. Without volunteers EMS would not be the success it is in America today.

Very dumb......we all make mistakes, but come on now....I wouldnt say fire them, maybe a suspension, make the crew split the cost of a new toughbook, and watch mandatory safety videos.....

Hello, I like you thought. It could be LV strain from the patient's HTN. According to the LIFE study that I found on Google LV strain is defined as, "...as a downsloping convex ST segment with inverted asymmetrical T-wave opposite to the QRS axis in leads V5 and/or V6." The T-waves are opposite the QRS axis in V5 and V6. However, the concave ST is missing. Still, a solid thought. However, can strain cause conduction delays? Could. I don't know. Maybe, coronary perfusion is limited during diastole? My CCU/CVICU experience is limited. Cheers.... Cheers...

Appreciate vs Understand: Semantics. I believe it was Raising Children in tough times, it was my mothers. And , I have read articles and books wich have referenced his other considerable work. My grandmother, who was a 40 plus year school elementary teacher with a masters in Education thought it was a crock as well, though that was a much later and different conversation. I can easily say that if my grandmother hadn't taken charge of my education, I would probably be wearing a prisoner number right now. From my point of view, all the anti-spank group seem to think that the world is made up of parents who beat their kids senseless at the drop of the hat, producing bullies and brutes that would be perfect members of society if only the rod had been spared. On the other end are the pro-spank parents who see a world out of control and children with no consequences bullying the world at large while protected from consequences by the misguided intentions of the anti-spank touchy feely groups. Obviously we both fall at different ends of the spectrum but let me share my perspective. And you will note, I will do it WITHOUT calling you lazy, ignorant, or similar terms, which is more than you have done. When we speak of the military, I believe I am comparing apples to apples, because I was talking about the military school approach to educating children. My military school took in children from 6th through 12 grades. My tenure in military school, and in the military afterward, was far from scientific. It is the simple evolution of some practices that worked and some that possibly did not, but in the end it prepared me for real life. Punishment was harsh at time, without a grievence process, and was administered by fellow cadets or soldiers as often as it was by the "chain of command" (peer pressure can be a powerful motivator). It simply taught a deal with it and move on attitude, self petty curling up in a ball and hoping that someone else will fix your problems approach doesnt work. My upbringing in this system was at times harsh and unpleasant. But my coperal punishment was as often harsh physical labor (ever shovel coal for 8 hours?) and physical conditioning and rarely actual paddling. But the knowledge was ALWAYS THERE that if i didnt comply, if I didnt do my part...there was always one unbendable, unavoidable punishment at the end of the day. Todays schools dont have that, and without a "buck stops here" attitude, no amount of well reasoned rewards systems of hugs will work. And suspension is not it. To many kids suspension is a vacation, not a punishment. Its street credit. Its time off. Its a (in a twisted sense) a reward. And they continue this pathway until they are 18. Now there is a "final punishment", Prison or Death. And they are often unprepared for this new life paradigm. And we as a society are at fault now. Because we did not train them as children for the harsh world that exists, and these problem children, we actually encouraged on their problem path though this touchy feely approach, and act surprised when they continue it in adult hood. You asked "Why are you choosing to punish a child for reacting to the environment that they are forced by law to be subjected to?". ( sense a pro-homeschooling agenda here, but I will let it lay)The solution is simple, As adults they are forced into an unfair, harsh and unforgiving reality. Do we say to the murderer.."I am sorry, your street environment was harsh and unforgiving, and it is not fair that you are forced to live in poverty....so we will give you a pass on this?" No. Teach them consequences now and they will be better prepared down the road. NOw I am not saying that spanking is the solution, or the ONLY solution, but it needs to be in the process. Because a little temporary pain now (wether in the form of spanking, push-ups, laps, physical labor, or just extra homework) now as children will definitely prevent prevent permanent pain (in the form of prison, bullets, or the well deserved street level beat down) as an adult. Thats not science, and it doesnt fit in with todays thoughts of what reality should be.....but that IS reality. As my old PA in the army once said...Pain builds character. And that is perhaps what our arguments are really about... building character.

There you go again. Have a great day.

LOL! Theoretically, maybe. But had you ever gone to military school, or served in the military, you'd realise what a crock that is.

I get tired of the attacking and name calling of those with a different opinion. Your attempt at trying to say I am ignorant has failed. Don't like my opinion fine. State your opinion but leave the negative bull crap out.

I think you need to appreciate the school enviroment that schools have to deal with these days, with kids throwing complete fits at a very young age disrupting the whole class, kicking teachers and getting away with it, etc.. Suspension just moves the problem elsewhere, it doesnt correct it. Either call the parents in to spank them themselves, or swat them and sent them back in class. Im for spanking. In school and out. I am also for Jr. High and High schoolers working out their arguments "in the ring" with a pair of boxing gloves too. And sending them out to run laps, and putting them to work sweeping the hall on their break for bad behavior. But then I went to a military boarding school for high school, so I have a special veiw of these tatics, wich I think work. The age of Dr. Spock has destroyed our society

Spenac probably got his arse whacked at school as a way to get off it and move around to warm up because fire was not invented yet! I think parents have just become too useless or somehow incapable of disclipining thier kids, plain and simple.

As someone who went to school in texas in the 60's and was sent to the asst principles office more than once for an arse whacking I'd say that if more kids had their butts warmed there would be more respect for the teachers and a definite fear of misbehaving. All you had to do was look crosseyed at a teacher to get the finger pointing you out the door and down the hall. I remember one day as I stood in line and was around number 15 waiting, By the time my turn came he could hardly swing the paddle, he was just tooo tuckered out from all the beatings handed out that day. Nothing piss@d them off more than laughing at their efforts as juvenile attitude correction. Nowadays if a few parents handled disciplining their heathen children, there might not be a need for the schools to do it for them.

Want to stop the trouble making? Lets go back to the old days teachers beat your butt, principle beats your butt, then the parents rather than crying about poor little Johnny beat his butt. Once or twice and kids will behave. This current age of don't touch is not working.

Spare the rod, spoil the child

Exactly. It wasn't that long ago that a medical helo dropped an oxygen tank through the roof of someone's home because of this exact same problem. I'm betting this crew got that news, as the HEMS community is pretty well wired in. So, did they take someone else's lesson to heart? Nope. They ignored it and went off to make the same mistake themselves. Definitely a major FAIL! It's not like there's a shortage of flight medic wannabes out there. Replace them.