Check out this volunteer recruitment ad....WTF!!

[Chief1C]

Chains on ice.. Okay. So, you'll be upside down w/ the doors ripped off, but your tires will still have chains on them.

Perhaps it's the thrill of riding shotgun in the ambulance as we race down the interstate on icy roads!

I dunno who the hell wrote that article, but as a Vol. fire person, I'd have to say that it describes exactly the kind of people that we "black ball".

the adrenaline rush of speeding down the interstate with lights flashing and sirens blaring

I blame Hollywood.. But, seriously, this author is pissing me off.

[Just Plain Ruff]

I have almost hit that mark in 18 months of EMS training... I can't imagine being a 30 year veteran and only being as educated as I am right now.

Isn't publishing those numbers kind of like saying "Yesiree, we are undereducated! Here is an exact number to show just how undereducated even our 30 year veterans (We have a few!) are!!"

I wonder if the great citizens of the Superior Area might actually do the math and figure out they spend more than 1300 hours over 30 years wiping their asscrack.

Actually... :shock: Those numbers terrify me...

actually, the public doesn't know how uneducated 1200 hours is. They just see 1200 hours or so and say "Duh, that's a lot of hours"

The public doesnt' know any better.

[Dustdevil]

actually, the public doesn't know how uneducated 1200 hours is. They just see 1200 hours or so and say "Duh, that's a lot of hours"

The public doesnt' know any better.

That's the sad part. In thirty years, if you're REALLY dedicated, you might achieve half the educational hours of a degreed paramedic. Nice.

And, of course, 1080 of those hours are just continuous refreshers of what you should have learned in the first 120, and nothing new. So really, it comes out to only 120 hours of training, done ten times over in thirty years. :roll:

The really lucky thing for those vollies is that the general public doesn't know that it takes 3000 hours just to cut hair.

[firedoc5]

At first I was wondering which Superior Ambulance they were talking about. But now I see it's in the MAT state. I've heard so many pros & cons of volly services that even though it might sound bad, but I've got to be a bit apathetic about it. Paid or volly, as long as they are there to help and their skills are adequate, I don't care.

The services I have worked for had at one time used chains on their wheels, but for some reason stopped using them before I started working there.

Actually my hat's off to all those who have been dedicated in the field for a non-specific number of years. Paid or volly they have all sacrificed things in one way or another. But when they brag on how many hours they've put in "training" is where I sort of draw the line. Ruff is completely right. The public have no idea the value of hours. It seems like it's only the volly's that get "credit" when it's mentioned how many hours are spent. If the general public found out how many hours that some of us actually get per week, they'd be astounded. But I guess if you are paid or a volly that responds to a LOT of calls, it doesn't matter.

Off my little soap box now.

[Chief1C]

My "pen name" wrote to the editor:

Who the heck wrote this article? What on Earth is wrong with you? Publishing this trash, you should be ashamed. This is the worst example of journalism that I've seen in a long time.. And I'm quite familiar with the trade.

Quotes like this are BAD for the Volunteer Fire and EMS Services. You're giving people the wrong idea. People that do this crap, are the ones that we don't want on our crew.. It's the kind of actions that get us out on nasty roads, to take care of other people's mistakes and stupidity.

He responded:

The person who wrote this is the former sheriff and current head of the ambulance services here.

If you can write a better article to encourage volunteers, then I encourage you to do so and I will run it.

Otherwise, you are like many other people in this country who tear people down without any thought to helping build them back up.

I hope you are the person in the first instance.

I don't know where you live or what you do in your personal life, but here are community is dying. There are no jobs, there is no economy and given that, people still volunteer and give their time for their neighbors. I apologize if you think that running this story was irresponsible, but I thought Anita was sending out a message to try and better OUR community, not hurt it. Maybe I was wrong, but I stand by that decision.

I will wait for your story and look forward to it running in our paper and making Mineral County a better place. Thanks you for your time.

Mark Hebert

[JakeEMTP]

4cmk6,

It appears the ball has been thrown into your court. Perhaps as a group we could write an article of how it really is instead of just bitching about it.

What do you say group? Are we up to the challenge? We could write the article and submit it from " Concerned EMS Professionals".

[firedoc5]

My "pen name" wrote to the editor:

He responded:

Let me work on it and see if I can help. I have had some journalistic experience.

[Chief1C]

I'm afraid to say anything... Not directing this at any one individual, just talking as someone who has been met with a lot of friction and road blocks, when talking about improvements and change.

Write it because you're a competent, compassionate EMT or Paramedic, and you're good at what you do.. Which is what makes you a professional. Not because you're getting a pay check and they're not. That would be more disrespectful, than the dribble that their captain wrote. You're not a damn good provider because you get paid, you're a damn good provider because you care.. and these people care to do what they can, to help their neighbors.

Nothing wrong with suggesting a paid crew. But their citizens need and deserve EMS care until that can take place.. And saying, go paid, isn't an eye opening revelation. With out long term planning, volunteer services that went paid too quickly.. End up out of business, and the citizens with out nearby EMS. With the economical problems they hint of, it may take a while for them to become staffed and compensated. They're doing the same thing that we do, only they're fighting to stay alive, per se. If the local economy isn't able to support volunteers, it's not the time to talk paid staffing. Clearly, as we all know, that takes time and planning, they just need help to stay on top right now.