Housing space

[becksdad]

WARNING: THIS POST WILL LIKELY RANT AND RAVE AND OFFER NO ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION TO ANYTHING!

Docomd600, I am originally from Maryland also, and my introduction to EMS was in that state. I see from your post that the county you work in is combination career/volunteer - from that I can guess that you are in one of 2 counties that border Baltimore City. To my knowledge, the other counties are entirely volunteer, and I used to live in one of them. I would like to tell folks about my own experience and observations in this county volunteer system since members of this board have been graciously tolerant of my other tirades.

Back in the mid-90's, the volunteer FD had impressive looking apparatus. The particular station that I was involved with had 3 ambulances and many more pieces of fire equipment - engines, trucks, pumpers, brush trucks, etc. And that was just one station of many dotted throughout the county. They were all late model vehicles.

This period of time was also my personal introduction to the Whacker. The parking lot was filled with personal vehicles sporting lightbars, strobes, reflective striping, window stickers, and custom license plates. Members considered cornerstones of the organization had nicknames like "Bubba", "Red", and "Bucky". (Real nicknames that I remember). Standard issue uniforms included baseball caps and cans of Skoal. 911 calls were answered by people flying down the road since they had to hastily leave their lawn cuttin' business (sorry - landscape design service).

Despite the investment in large, new ambulances, EMS was quite the bastard step-child of the volunteer FD. There were arguments and debates over who would have to cover the Medic truck - mostly by people not wanting to do it. FIRE was the big ticket baby! Everybody wanted FIRE. The rare CEU class or Medical QA meetings were so lightly attended that there would be leftovers from a dozen donuts. But let 'em get ahold of an old barn to burn and half the county was in!!! I remember being at a CPR recert class there when a fire call was toned out. My God! Even though there were sufficient people covering the trucks, most of the folks in the class (including the instructor) got real bug-eyed, started quivering, and ran, literally RAN at full speed, to throw on some turn-out gear and not miss the truck pulling out! I looked over at the other guy left sitting there (like WTF?), and we both just busted out laughing!!

It has been about 10 years now since my brief involvement with that particular organization. When I go back to Maryland to visit family, I see that they now have a brand new, multi-story, multi-million dollar station that covers an entire square city block. I think there are 6 bays, new vehicles, and the same light bars, strobes, etc. on the POV's in the parking lot. From the local media, it seems inside the station there are private sleeping quarters, classrooms, media center, fully equipped commercial grade kitchen, etc. Other stations throughout the county are following the lead of this flagship.

THIS ENTIRE COUNTY REMAINS COMPLETELY VOLUNTEER - NOT ONE PROFESSIONAL, CAREER MINDED INDIVIDUAL RESPONDS TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL CALLS!!!!!!!!!!!

And yet, professional, educated masters of Emergency Medicine still do not have bunks, stoves, or even chairs to sit in!!! Many, like Asysin2leads I imagine, must stage in their vehicles for entire shifts, without benefit of even a bathroom!! Unless they're in an extended cab vehicle, they can't even recline their seats to take some pressure off their backs. I cannot even begin to express the utter shame we should feel as a nation that re-creates the conditions described above in state after state, county after county.

I know that complaining about something is useless without offering alternative solutions. I have none. I really wish I did. Maybe a start would be to proclaim as publicly as we can the reality of EMS throughout this country. I am certain the same holds true in other nations as well. I really don't think the public has a clue. If they did, maybe they would begin to take the kind of pride in Emergency Medical Responders that is currently reserved for "Bubba" and his big red fire truck.

*no disrespect meant towards any professional firefighters or landscapers.

[Niftymedi911]

BecksDad,

You gotta admit besides the rats and mold at medic 7, medic 3, the trailer that has survived the past on slougth of hurricanes at medic 11, and medic 1 being a garage redone into sleeping quarters at STFD sta 1. If it wasn't for our Local 1826 union, we wouldn't have jack shit, meaning System status. But now, we have 24 hr shifts, we have beds, lazy-boys, high-speed internet, computers, cable TV, refrigerators, A/C, Showers, toliets that acutally flush , Microwave, etc. All the comforts of home minus the beer. And not to mention some of the best salaries for EMS (not FD) in the state of FLA!!!

Mind you our Admin needs to be removed and replaced with people who know what the hell their doing.

I'm happy, well somewhat.

[Dustdevil]

Mind you our Admin needs to be removed and replaced with people who know what the hell their doing.

I don't know about your Admin, but I do know that, from what I see of many of your medics, whoever is doing the hiring there should definitely be sacked.

[JakeEMTP]

I don't know about your Admin, but I do know that, from what I see of many of your medics, whoever is doing the hiring there should definitely be sacked.

ZING!!!!!!!!

[emaxray]

Ya know... in a country where there is no national standard that eliminates volunteer fire and EMS, I would be extremely surprised if there is an actual, meaninful national standard that addresses how they are housed. Like it's okay to expose people to dangerous labour and not pay them... just so long as you give them a big refrigerator!

I am so glad to see something like this other than hearing myself. I am tired of arguing with the vollies about why it's worth paying people to risk thier lives. At least in places with enough call volume to warrant such. Instead, they blow the money they have on those huge buildings nobody uses (cept for the Labor Day fish fry) and newer, bigger, better apparatus. There are 2 township FDs near me that have ladder trucks. There isn't a building over 2 stories for 20 miles and even then it's the hospital in a small city with thier own ladder. What a waste of money.

If you read the medic vs basic pay post, you'll recognize the "horrible company" I mentioned there. That same company provided bunk rooms, a huge bay for the trucks and a kitchen withOUT a range unit (but there's a microwave), bathrooms and shower, etc.. They bought new leather office furniture for the billing department downstairs and sent the old stuff up to us. However, The new million dollar building they built does not, to this day, have ANY form of fire detection of suppression system in it. To save money, they paid off the township FD inspector and he passed the building. Same as they paid off the ambulance inspector to pass ALS units without gear. I remember watching him check a new truck and upon finding out there was no monitor, asked someone to get the monitor for the unit. One of managment got one from another truck, he saw it, checked it off and the manager took it right back to the other truck! I was beside myself.

I guess just hearing about the volunteer/county FDs again got me boiled over. The "Good 'Ol Boy" system makes me wanna vomit. Alot of times it's some Vol. Chief that just doesn't want to give up his power. I've seen that too.

No offense to the volunteers of the world. There are times when that's all you got so you make it work. But I definately get frustrated when I'm trying to make a living as a professional (I am FFII as well) and there are people giving it away.