LOL @ Pueblo, CO AMR/Fire Response WHY??????????????

[Flasurfbum]

So what do you do when the Samsonite positive turns out to actually be having a massive MI and dies in the holding tank while the cop is writing up his civil summons?

Guess what... medic crew is fried.

Medic- Sir, why did you call 911 today?

Mutt- I need a ride to the hospital. I have a surgery tomorrow morning, and I need a ride.

Medic- Sir, are you having any chest pain, shortness of breath, head ache, nausea, blurred vision?

Mutt- No, I just need a ride. Can you take me now?

Cop- He won't. But here is a ticket.

If you were to subtract Medic, and add EMT, and take the cop out of the equation, I am quite sure that every EMT, B, I, P, or anything in between would have at least one story similar to this one. In fact, this story is based on one of mine.

[Flasurfbum]

I believe Flasurfbum is from Florida (same 2 addresses as a past member who hasn't be around lately).

The "insurance skyrocketing" was a scare tactic the FDs used during the Florida Tax Reform vote last year. Fortunately, the majority of intelligent life in Florida did the math. I do get a better rating on my insurance since I have a fire hydrant within 300 feet of my property. The policy doesn't mention a fire truck.

There was other math done by the citizens of Florida and now we are starting to get more people questioning their city and county leaders why we need 4 vehicles for every medical call. However, it will probably be the fuel prices that bring change before support for non-fire EMS services.

Florida has a large retired population. I can not imagine the repercussions that would result if the Fire Rescue was to decide who was worthy of transport or not. Most of these people have already felt discrimination at sometime in their long lives.

Yes, there is abuse, but I've also seen that go both ways by lazy EMTs and Paramedics who don't want to assess the patient or even be bothered by something that doesn't look like the exciting career their Medic Mill promised.

Congrats. You saved what, 250 dollars on a feel-good amendment that did nothing more then cut stations, and funding for Fire Dept operations.

If Charlie would have actually given a rats arse about us, he would have pushed that bill if it had clear writing that specified what was being cut. Not just give carte blanch to cut whatever the morons felt like. And of course, its NEVER the pet projects.

And then he has the nerve to come down to the wildfires and shake our hands, and call us heros. Maybe if DoF was better funded, we wouldn't have lost 60 something homes!

[Flasurfbum]

Your insurance skyrocketing claims hold no water. My insurance with limited fire protection in the area is only slightly higher per year than friends of mine that live in one of the best rated communitys. You could cut fire by a large amount and still have good coverage while improving the number of healthcare providers spread out in the community, which would do more good on a regular basis. Fire and EMS are to completely different professions. I have been both and clearly see they are not related at all. We still need fire but not at the levels currently staffed. Downsize fire, up size EMS and everyone benefits.

If you have been a fireman, you know how many men it takes on the first alarm to bring a fire under control, establish a water supply, do a primary search, ventilate, and overhaul. Show me a community that can meet the standards of first alarm assignments and within the required time, and I will show you a place that is safe to live.

[Eydawn]

I'll take my chances with a community that's got better EMS response than fire response... at least most of the time I can get myself out of a burning house. I can't get myself out of an asthma attack... that would be an out-of-body experience...

Safe to live is a subjective measure. Just keep that in mind.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[VentMedic]

Medic- Sir, why did you call 911 today?

Mutt- I need a ride to the hospital. I have a surgery tomorrow morning, and I need a ride.

Medic- Sir, are you having any chest pain, shortness of breath, head ache, nausea, blurred vision?

Mutt- No, I just need a ride. Can you take me now?

Cop- He won't. But here is a ticket.

If you were to subtract Medic, and add EMT, and take the cop out of the equation, I am quite sure that every EMT, B, I, P, or anything in between would have at least one story similar to this one. In fact, this story is based on one of mine.

That actually is not an unreasonable request in some areas. It is very confusing with the many different transport services. Granted the person should not have called 911, but then a 911 operator should have caught this one and offered a non-emergency number if possible. There are hospitals that now own their own ambulances not only for CCT but also for courtesy transport. Unfortunately not everyone has gotten the memo. Also, if the person has never had a need for an ambulance they may not truly know the procedure or if they have come from a rural community were everything is all the same service. Even Florida has not had the "911" service that long in some parts. People dialed their ambulance and PD directly.

Also, those questions may be answered in all honesty as no, but the person could still have a need for some type of medical transport. Examples: amputations, ventilator, paralysis... Our quads, ventilator or not, routinely are transported by ambulance to and from the hospital. Why? They have difficulty getting in and out of the taxi. Many dispatchers also may hear the word "ventilator" and automatically roll ALS emergency.

Granted there is a lot of abuse in the system, but so much of this could be corrected through public education and a system where the dispatcher could immediately transfer the call to a non-emergency call taker to offer better information for the service the patient is seeking.

Not everyone is a dead beat drug seeking system abuser. Many (especially in Florida) are elderly with limited means lost in a medical maze.

There were no massive cuts in FD service anywhere in the state of Florida from that amendment. Obviously you do not pay property tax in Florida or you would know how much is funneled to the FD and public safety. All you are spouting is the same propaganda that was published on the FF union flyers and commercials. Did you actually investigate anything on your own to have an original thought that wasn't planted in you head by a union leader? You might be amazed what you can learn from the public records about the financial waste one system can accumulate.

If you are from NJ and only 20 years old, how can you possibly have a grasp on Florida politics? Again, you are just repeating what you are being fed by your employer. Get back to me when you have an original thought in your head.

BTW: How's FireGuard69?

[JPINFV]

And of course, its NEVER the pet projects.

Well, to be entirely fair, fire suppression is a pet project of yours. The cuts have to come someplace and no place should be immune.

[Flasurfbum]

Also, those questions may be answered in all honesty as no, but the person could still have a need for some type of medical transport. Examples: amputations, ventilator, paralysis... Our quads, ventilator or not, routinely are transported by ambulance to and from the hospital. Why? They have difficulty getting in and out of the taxi. Many dispatchers also may hear the word "ventilator" and automatically roll ALS emergency.

Granted there is a lot of abuse in the system, but so much of this could be corrected through public education and a system where the dispatcher could immediately transfer the call to a non-emergency call taker to offer better information for the service the patient is seeking.

Not everyone is a dead beat drug seeking system abuser. Many (especially in Florida) are elderly with limited means lost in a medical maze.

There were no massive cuts in FD service anywhere in the state of Florida from that amendment. Obviously you do not pay property tax in Florida or you would know how much is funneled to the FD and public safety. All you are spouting is the same propaganda that was published on the FF union flyers and commercials. Did you actually investigate anything on your own to have an original thought that wasn't planted in you head by a union leader? You might be amazed what you can learn from the public records about the financial waste one system can accumulate.

If you are from NJ and only 20 years old, how can you possibly have a grasp on Florida politics? Again, you are just repeating what you are being fed by your employer. Get back to me when you have an original thought in your head.

BTW: How's FireGuard69?

No arguements with the first part of what you said. Pts with inabilities to normally get around would need the extra assistance that only an ambulance could provide.

Employer? Union Firefighter? I don't think so. I am a volly on a combo dept, and in Medic school.

And yes, there are cuts in Palm Beach County, and many stations are being put on hold in my area, because they can not afford to build and staff them, despite rising call volumes, and population.

How can I grasp it so well? Because I have held a Florida address for almost 7 years now, with one year spent back in Jersey so I could get experience as an EMT that I would otherwise not be able to get here, so I can be more experienced, and become a better medic.

Once again, I have no employer. Unless you want to count that cardiac monitoring company that called me for a job interview today.

Him and I are rather tight. You might even say I know him as well as I know myself.

[Flasurfbum]

Well, to be entirely fair, fire suppression is a pet project of yours. The cuts have to come someplace and no place should be immune.

I have yet to see an ambulance put out a fire.

[JPINFV]

I have yet to see a fire engine transport a patient.

[Dustdevil]

I'll take my chances with a community that's got better EMS response than fire response... at least most of the time I can get myself out of a burning house. I can't get myself out of an asthma attack... that would be an out-of-body experience...

Safe to live is a subjective measure. Just keep that in mind.

Wendy, as usual, you just don't get it. Your life is not nearly as important as a burning barn full of hay. Or a warehouse full of furniture. Or the grass in my back forty. Sure, they don't catch fire nearly as often as our citizens fall ill or injured, but that's not the point.[/sarcasm]

This is indeed about taxes. If they don't steal your jobs and your budget, then the IAFF is revealed to be the dishonest charlatans that they are, and thousands of low-intelligence, uneducated knuckle-draggers with no other career prospects will flood our unemployment lines, causing our taxes to go up!

So the choice is, do I want to pay the firemonkeys to do nothing, or do I want to pay them to take my job? Seriously folks, is there even a question?

And speaking of dishonesty, Surfbum, I'm really disappointed that you cannot display the integrity to admit some of the indisputable points being made here. You're not a stupid guy, and I know that you get it. You even say yourself that the reason the fire service involves itself in EMS is because they have nothing better to do, yet when someone else says it, you back up and dispute it. Come on, man. If there really are some strong and valid justifications for fire-based EMS -- and with you being right in the middle of it -- I would expect that you could present those to us. Hell, Dr. Pepe wrote a whole paper on this theory for you. Have you read it? Rather than just sitting behind the keyboard and spouting off whatever jumps into your mind, how about doing a little research to find facts to support your theory? Seriously Bro, it's embarrassing to watch you get shredded this bad by EMT-Bs who don't even work in EMS!