SAFETY

[Richard B the EMT]

come on, you can't tell me that if you were talking to someone about the KKK standards and a person not knowing what you were talking about wouldn't question this? ...

We in the business know what the KKK standards are referred to but you can't tell me that someone hasn't questioned this.

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I am regarded as being weird, so I say, especially around non-EMS people, "Kilo Kilo Kilo Alpha Eighteen Twenty Two." (We're up to "F"? I remember "A.")

Let's face it, even in our type work, there's a big number of people neither know or care about the ambulance standards, or even the manufacturers. Case in point, I asked a crew about their E350 based ambulance, which I later found out was a Canadian designed type 2, they had no idea that the entire ambulance was NOT manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. "There are AMBULANCE manufacturers? But this is a Ford!"

On a different reference, even the Conspiracy Theorists have to admit that "Area 51" has to be next to an Area 50, and "Hangar 18" is next to Hangar 19. Therefore, on paper, anyway, there must be a vehicle "spec" known as KKJ-A something or other. It makes sense.

[Dale]

Oh, you are so right. While some of us may be techno-geeks and understand every component and brand of equipment we us, I have found a surprisingly large number of folks in "the business" who have no idea what "brand" of ambulance they drive, what brand of defibrillator they use, etc. We can put large labels over the fuel fills stating "diesel fuel only" and they will still attempt to put "gasoline" in the tank. Who knows- maybe they are inattentive and simply running on "autopilot." I definitely don't want any of those responding to a call for anyone I know or care about.

While that might be minutiae to some, It does make me wonder how much attention (or maybe the lack of) they pay to other things they need to know.

As for Federal Specifications and how they are classified, I am sure they have letters and numbers for everything.

[JPINFV]

On a different reference, even the Conspiracy Theorists have to admit that "Area 51" has to be next to an Area 50, and "Hangar 18" is next to Hangar 19. Therefore, on paper, anyway, there must be a vehicle "spec" known as KKJ-A something or other. It makes sense.

Not to hijack [too much], but there is an Area 50 in Nevada. The "Area XX" designation comes from when the government used the area for nuclear weapons testing and has nothing to do with the "nonexistent" air force base that can be found on Google maps.

[Richard B the EMT]

Would this actual area 50 be at Groome (Groom?) Dry Lake Air Base?

[JPINFV]

Area 51 is the Groom Lake Facility. Area 50 is the Tonopah Test Range per Wikipedia.

[CBEMT]

You must admit that if the patient doesn't respond adequately to several rounds of ACLS treatment while on the scene, a mad dash to the hospital in the back of a moving ambulance with questionable CPR by a standing medic isn't really going to make much of a difference, is it? Thank goodness some areas now recognize the futility of such efforts and now allow a code to be "d/c'd" in the field after aggressive resuscitation efforts and consultation with the on-line medical control.

That, plus an AutoPulse or similar device for those "have to transport" situations, will go a long way towards improving crew safety.