ballistics vests for EMS providers?

[Dustdevil]

Liddy is a nut. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't he have a fear of lightning as a kid so he chained himself to a tree during a thunderstorm?

Is that what happened to his hair?

[Richard B the EMT]

Don't forget for his fear of rats (rodent type), he killed one, barbecued it, and ate it!

[spenac]

Don't forget for his fear of rats (rodent type), he killed one, barbecued it, and ate it!

UMMM, rat the other, other, other, white meat.

[kyle308]

thanks to Galls im now an expert on ballistics vest. If anyone has questions or concerns just look at my degree http://galls.com/ballistic_certificate.html .

I am now taking questions regarding ballistic vests

[AnthonyM83]

Well now that you're degreed you can start charging consultation fees

[BEorP]

A question for those of you who have been supportive of ballistic vests:

With the benefits in ambulance crashes and never really knowing when violence might strike, would you wear a vest if working in a small city of approximately 30,000? What about in a rural area?

[paramedicmike]

A question for those of you who have been supportive of ballistic vests:

With the benefits in ambulance crashes and never really knowing when violence might strike, would you wear a vest if working in a small city of approximately 30,000? What about in a rural area?

Is gun violence limited only to urban areas? Not last I checked.

-be safe

[AnthonyM83]

Everything's a statistics game, from being in a car accident to getting shot to getting sprayed in the face by blood on a non-trauma/non-bleed category call. I would base it on how often things happened there.

When was the last time an accident happened in your service? 1992? Last EMS assault? Never? Last wrestle with a patient? 2002? Then, no, I probably wouldn't.

Here. Last accident? I've been off for a few days, but probably today or yesterday or day before. Last serious-ish one, probably a few weeks ago. Last EMS assault? With a gun, several months ago. Last wrestle with a patient? Probably within the last few days. So, I'd say you probably should.

I honestly don't know how to answer that question without being extreme and saying "don't ever take a chance"...in which case I just wouldn't work in the field at all.

It's a balance of pros and cons.

[scratrat]

We carry three on each truck in external carriers, staff wear them as they feel the need. I just used to put one on scratrat and use him as a shield

I made a pretty damn good shield didn't I?

[Michael Harding]

In Montreal we formed tactical paramedics to respond to high risk calls with our police departments. We have a total of 825 active paramedics so obviously cost and who is

willing to pay was a real concern. We started tactical paramedics about 4 years ago, and

actually got to develope the vests we use for medical purposes. We are run by the health

ministry in our province. We were authorized to start a 20 member team which is functionning quite well. The real question comes down to how dangerous a territory you

are covering. Including your health and safety department is absolutely essential.