Volunteers – Your Job?

[Laura Anne]

Ehhhhh.. Really, the only difference I've noticed is time. Hospitals, advanced care, etc, are farther away. People put themselves farther away, then blame everyone else when their house burns down, or their spouse dies before EMS arrives. The reason we're not paid, people are cheap. They want better roads and parks; and don't care about EMS till they need it personally. The fire depts here will always be volunteer, their call volume doesn't warrant any change. They have no problems getting out, their dedication and time spent on their organization have earned them modern and better equipment than most small cities.

EMS on the other hand, consolidation is what will make the difference. Consolidation and modernizing rural EMS systems would be better, for everyone, all around. There would be no downside, other than hurt feelings, and they'll get over it eventually.

If we didn't volunteer, they would have to provide EMS some way. It's the law. Every municipality in the United States must have a fire dept, an ambulance service and a police dept, to cover them. Whether it is by providing their own, contract or mutual aid. Someone, would have to do it. EMS is a necessity. It would be taken care of, no matter what. I'm not saying they could do a better job than you, but there would be some alternative on hand.

BucksCountyFire.com Photo Album

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Units work at the 2 alarm fire at McCaffrey's Supermarket. Please check back for more pics. We are compiling a larger selection.

Pics 1-6: Jeff Goldberg

Pics 7-14 by: Ryan Murray & Tyler Pickett

Pics 15-22 by: Steve Reeves

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[Chief1C]

:?:

http://www.buckscountyfire.com/photos/fire.asp?year=2004#

[spenac]

:?:

http://www.buckscountyfire.com/photos/fire.asp?year=2004#

I'm with you whats this have to do with your post that she quoted?

[Chief1C]

Maybe because they have seemed to invent bunker shorts?

[tinman694]

Rocket Scientist....No Kidding

[Laura Anne]

Sorry about the post. Was at work and got halfway through what I was trying to point out in reference to the above quote, but then those nasty lil bells went off and out the door I went. I guess it somehow was sent prior to my finishing. No biggie.... :roll:

The point I was trying to make was about the McCaffrey's Grocery store burning down; it was one of the listed jobs on that post that I was going to narrow down along with other articles.

Recap on the basic story: The grocery store aforementioned burnt to the ground from a simple cigarette igniting the mulch along side of the building. The irony and point I being made was that directly across the street is Station 80, an all volunteer fire house that couldn't get ANY members to respond and put out the small mulch fire along side the building. If there were a paid crew on, the building would have been saved. Instead, the entire store burnt to the ground because they had to wait so long for other staffed fire companies to respond into their local. To add insult to injury..... Jim McCaffrey, owner of the store that burnt to the ground, donates thousands of dollars to the all volunteer fire companies in the local area year after year. Thanks to his donations, stations 0, 71, and 80 all have top of the line equipment that couldn't roll out to save his property when in need. So you say Pennsylvania's fire houses will always have dedicated volunteers? Where were they the day Jim needed them....after everything he has done for the volleys?

Food for thought, no pun intended.

[pacman]

Recap on the basic story: The grocery store aforementioned burnt to the ground from a simple cigarette igniting the mulch along side of the building. The irony and point I being made was that directly across the street is Station 80, an all volunteer fire house that couldn't get ANY members to respond and put out the small mulch fire along side the building. If there were a paid crew on, the building would have been saved. Instead, the entire store burnt to the ground because they had to wait so long for other staffed fire companies to respond into their local. To add insult to injury..... Jim McCaffrey, owner of the store that burnt to the ground, donates thousands of dollars to the all volunteer fire companies in the local area year after year. Thanks to his donations, stations 0, 71, and 80 all have top of the line equipment that couldn't roll out to save his property when in need. So you say Pennsylvania's fire houses will always have dedicated volunteers? Where were they the day Jim needed them....after everything he has done for the volleys?

Food for thought, no pun intended.

Ouch!!!

Could have been worse, he could have died from an MI while waiting 30 mins for an ambulance to call "in service".

[Chief1C]

Good thing I'm not from Bucks Co..

[Laura Anne]

Ouch!!!

Could have been worse, he could have died from an MI while waiting 30 mins for an ambulance to call "in service".

Naw, he'd only have to wait a few minutes because the EMS is mostly career staffed now instead of being all volunteer. Don't get me wrong, I started out as a volley for this township back in the day, but even then, they had 24hr around the clock ALS career staff on duty. Actually, 95%/greater do in this region. Basically, you're in good hands if you have an MI, just don't light anything on fire! :shock: :wink:

[medic5740]

I am sure that some of you out there will disagree with me, but I certainly feel that helping my friends and neighbors is the reason that I volunteered for EMS. The local governments here support the volunteer fire department with a budget twice as large are the EMS budget even though EMS runs from 15 to 20 times as many calls as fire even in this rural environment. So busy does not necessarily mean paid services. Distance is an issue for rural EMS especially when drug boxes are designed for urban services.

I have posted a story with pictures about a 12 hour EMS run that occurred here. You can read it on my website: http://ruralemsisdifferent.com

There are several stories there, but the "Unusual Transportation is Sometimes Necessary" story does tell you about a fairly unusual ambulance run. Time is an issue, but burnout is another issue. I have been the only year-round paramedic in my community for four years. When I leave for an ambulance run, my family never knows where I will end up for the night, how I will get home, or whether to call in for my paid job as a teacher in the local school or not.

I'm a school teacher, but as of this summer, I have retired from both teaching and EMS. Burnout is my excuse, but at least I recognize that I have it. Some don't recognize it until it's too late.

In rural EMS, it is WHEN will my patient get to the hospital FIRST, and WHEN will I get HOME last. I'd like to hear from others about ending up stranded 60 miles away from home after transporting a patient, the only way possible, in a USCG helicopter. There I was standing at the airport with $20,000 worth of cardiac monitor and IV pumps with no way to get home at 3 a.m. That's when burnout really sits in.

Good luck to all of you who volunteer. Keep up the good work of helping your friends and neighbors. One of these days, I might be in your community and need your help. WAY TO GO VOLUNTEERS! You all deserve a pat on the back and big THANK YOU!