Richard B the EMT

Off topic, but... I know what a Yeti is. It's "Bigfoot", "The abominable Snowman", "Harry" of "Harry and the Henderson's", and probably a few localized names I don't know off-hand. However, as the reports about the critter describe it as big, smelly, emitting a loud roar, and usually trying to get away from the human observer, why would one want to poke it?

I think everyone here uses variants on that one to friends and family on the scene. Also, I am quite happy that I don't have to knock on someone's door to give a cold advisement to someone not on the scene at the time of the pronouncement or termination of resuscitation attempts.

This string just reminded me of a call I once did, prior to starting with the Municipal EMS. I responded on a call with my Volunteer Ambulance Corps, to a man who was dead. We had the entire run of signs; dependent lividity, cold to the touch, rigor had set in, basic breathless and pulseless. We started CPR, anyway, as back then, under local protocol, vollies were not allowed to "pronounce". We requested municipal EMS Paramedics, who, after arrival, and running an asystoly "strip", were allowed to "pronounce", under the local protocols. One adult family member refused to accept it. We called across the street to the local church, and the priest delivered the "last rites", and my team, and the Paramedics started taking up. Just as we left, the family member was asking his newly widowed mother to call 9-1-1, to "get a different crew", and perhaps a favorable result.

There were some who posited, when NYC EMS was moved from the Health and Hospitals Corporation to the FDNY, that FDNY was attempting to appear that they, a predominantly white organization, were employing women and minorities. FDNY is, at least on the Fire Fighter's side, still predominantly white. I also must mention that, while pre-merger EMS advanced from EMT to Paramedic, or either of those titles to Lieutenants, Captains, and the assortment of Chiefs, FDNY's first ideal of promotion is to Fire Fighter (holding Certified First Responder-Defibrillator status).

Going to Eastern Daylight Savings Time, a retired Queens dispatcher for the FDNY EMS EMD used to say, "it's 0159 hours. due to lack of interest, 0200 has been canceled. At the tone, it will be 0300 hours. (BEEP)" Returning to Eastern Standard Time, the same dispatcher would say "Due to popular demand, the hour of 0200 will now be repeated. At the tone, the time will, again, be 0200 hours. (BEEP)" Arizona does not participate in the Daylight Savings Time concept.

The only death notifications I have done, have always been just to people in the same home as the deceased, after either determination of death, or termination of rescusitive efforts.

Any emergency agency, either FD, EMS, LEO, or combined of these, should understand the simplicity of their work, in that the only color that should be acknowledged is NO color! When my brother was in the Navy Reserve Officer's Training Corps (NROTC), a USMC Sargent charged with his class' training, said "I don't see white, I don't see black, I don't see yellow, or red. I SEE THE COLOR OF YOUR UNIFORMS!" And so it should be!

FDNY EMS offers vests in an "under the shirt" configuration, but allows us, at our own expense, an "over the uniform" "carrier". EVERYONE is offered the vest, but have to sign a release if they decline having a vest assigned them. I have the extra carrier, and have used it primarily at scenes where we are advised that shots may be fired, like "Warrant Service" standby's (use the search feature on Tactical EMS in or with SWAT responses).

When on scenes where helmets are worn, at least here in NYC, Fire Fighters wear black helmets, Lieutenants and Captains wear helmets with white face pieces, and all levels of Chiefs wear white helmets with a lot of gold inlay. EMS EMTs and Paramedics wear orange helmets, and supervisors at Lieutenant and above wear white helmets. NYPD wears blue, but I am uncertain of their supervisor's colors being white. Also, almost everyone wears shirts, coats or jackets that have patches on the backs indicating at minimum, their agency, with some showing level of training, and all FDNY members, both Fire Fighters and EMSers, have their names on the back in reflective lettering.

True. I'd guess that knowing how much, and/or how many potential areas where a HazMat team might be needed in one's service area would help in the agency's assessment of themselves, in what level of training they would want or potentially need to maintain.

Not restricting myself to the last model year of the Caddylance in 1980, I don't believe I have seen any roof hangers in any ambulances after 1980. That does not mean they no longer make them, just that I have not seen any. Outside the United States and Canada, does anybody use them for multiple patient transport or transfer on one trip?

RickBob, please clarify if you are referring to helmets as part of outerwear protective gear, say, for use where stuff might fall on you, or as also mentioned here, in moving ambulances as additional protection to the crew, like seat belt usage, and air bags. Thanks. For when we in the FDNY EMS Command are involved in an extrication or disentanglement of a patient from a vehicle, working at a multiple casualty incident, or just for visually identifying oneself at a large area event like working the New York City Marathon, the orange plastic fire helmet is not only encouraged, but mandated by our operations guide, to be worn, along with the associated "turnout" coat, pants, and blood borne pathogen resistant boots, as assigned each department member. FDNY EMS Command has nothing, as far as I am aware, for any type helmet usage, or any type of helmet, for use while the ambulance is in motion, either in the cab or the patient treatment areas of the vehicles. I will state that, while operating at an MCI, I have been known for not taking off the helmet when driving from the scene to the ER, or back again. When I was asked about that, I stated that there was nothing, either way, in the Ops guide, on that topic.

By the way, the Darwin Awards might give this one an Honorable Mention, reserved for when the individual survives. O M G !

What is NOT mentioned in that article is that when Federal monies were given over to NYC for the same purpose, right after the attack, the city used said monies to fight such medical requests, instead of for attempting to treat them. I am trying to find news reports confirming this, but have 9 years worth of articles to go through.

May I suggest contacting the National Safety Council, or possibly ChemTrek (spelling?)? If they don't do the classes, they might be able to refer you to those who do. The rule of thumb is always a good idea, but they also tell you to use your telescopic device to check out the suspicious vehicle's placard from the Rule of Thumb distance. FDNY never assigned the EMS Command any such devices, so I have an X8 monocular. Kind of looks like one side only of a set of binoculars. When not on the HazMat assignment, the thing can be used to look at other stuff. I work at a beach, and can check out the action, look at incoming jets to JFK, boats, you name it, as long as it's out in public view anyway.

News item, and already covered in another string here on EMT City. A woman in Florida was arrested for numerous offenses, after being involved in a car accident while shaving her "Privates". The article goes on to tell her new nicknames: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In an unrelated news article, on a woman who gave birth in a taxi in the middle of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, per WCBS-TV2(HD), the child, who's name is Jacob, due to being born in a taxi, is already nicknamed "Jay-Cab", after "tunneling into this world". (Momma B is still groaning 2 hours after hearing those puns on the newscast!)

Now I am afraid of asking the generic question of, "What could happen to top this?" because it might!

Can you now imagine him trying to tell the LEOs that story? I think the LEOs, Lawyers, Judge and jury wouldn't buy it, either.

OK, Mike, you beat me in entering this article. What I tend to do is, whatever I want to send on the Computer terminal, I do so while still in "Park", if at all possible. If I need additional information sent, it's via the voice radio for relay by the EMD. For something like notifying EMD of an unaccompanied female (FDNY EMS protocol and procedure), if EMD doesn't answer, I'll transmit something like "47 Adam for time stamp on tape search, unaccompanied female to hospital 40 (St Johns Episcopal) at mile (odometer reading)." I would do similar on arrival. FYI, I just put a Nuvi GPS into my POV, store bought at $140, versus factory/dealer prep of $1,500.

One of my personal associates is Texan, and is, stereotypically, always bragging. He told me that his spread outside of Ammarillo was so big, you had to refill the gas tank on the car twice just to go from one end to the other. I told him I used to have a gas guzzler car like that, myself. I showed him Niagara Falls ("Slowly I turned, step by step..".) I told him he probably didn't have anything like that in Texas. He answered "We don't, but I can recommend a plumber who can fix that in under a day!"

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, everyone!

Interesting that you should bring that up. I was talking with a lawyer yesterday, who happened to be one of 2 brother lawyers who created a 13 episode show on the trial system. He agreed with me that, for us the medical shows, and for him the LEO/Procedural/Trial shows (the Law and Order group, the CSI group, and the Judge Judy/People's court/Divorce Court and the rest of the 1/2 hour trial shows), everyone would be so bored with how slow and talky it really is. Even his own show left a bunch out, while putting a bunch of filler material in.

Fiznat, as stated, we don't have to agree, and nobody is forcing anyone to read the string. There are some amongst us who are only happy when they have something to complain about (I'm sometimes there), and some who's nature is to be nastily complaining. Wouldn't the world be a boring place if all the men looked like Brad Pitt, and the women like Eva Longoria? Or Willard Scott and the caricature that is Ugly Betty? I'm already on record as paraphrasing "Dirty" Harry Callahan: "Opinions are like noses, everyone's got one." So, I get my "jollies" by critiquing the good and bad following of EMS protocol, as well as what I view as good and bad plot devices. I know not everyone is going to agree with me, and will engage me in a discussion to sway my views. Sometimes they will change my mind, sometimes I'll change theirs. However, we're having fun doing so, and in some cases, everyone comes away with a better understanding of the organized chaos that is EMS. Back to the critiquing the good and bad following of EMS protocol, I also allow for the fact that there's going to be differences between town, county/Parrish, state/province, and country protocols. I'm an EMT Basic in New York State, and there are some on EMT City who are in systems where someone of my level of training would be considered to be too low in training to even be on an ambulance. When I comment on something outside of the scope of practice, I point out that I am doing so, and comment on observation of those with the higher level(s) of training. So, good, bad, or indifferent, I will be continuing to add my commentary on this site on the show, "Trauma", and possibly the new show based on the CSI shows, but from a medical perspective. More on that in another string. With all that, I do hope you have an enjoyable day, Fiznat (and everyone else on the site!).

I openly wonder if this, or a similar device, might have been used in the Pittsburgh fiasco, where several attempts to reach a patient during a blizzard over a 30 hour period failed, and the patient died?

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