Walking into a house, even after a very small insignificant fire, the smell of smoke is overwhelming. This Friday I rode out with Consolidated Fire District 2 and got to smell the smoke after a small fire. Nothing exciting, but we thought it was going to be. A furnace filter burned up kicking some smoke out the vents, enough to fill a room with a good haze. No real smoke damage, other than the now noticeable spider webs. No one thinks about the fact that spider webs turn black after smoke passes through them, it is kind of cool almost a haunted house feel if it wasn't so bright from the sun coming in the windows.
That smell of smoke was an awesome taste of things to come. There was quite an adrenaline rush when the automatic alarm call we ran resulted in actual smoke. We had ran one automatic alarm earlier in the day and it was a leaking shower that filler the smoke alarm on the floor below with water. Not exciting at all. Pulling up to a automatic alarm and finding smoke is enough to get my heart pumping. It was quickly discovered to be a minor event that had burned itself out, but that smell of smoke still left an intoxicating aroma in the house. It wasn't a metal burning smell like most furnace fires. Since the filter is what burned it had a real house fire smell, that smell that wood and contents of a room puts off. It was a great feeling even though it wasn't the big one.
So I got to run my first house fire. It ended in a non-event, but could have been a big deal had it not burnt out or we not got there so quick. It is really interesting to see everyone turn serious and put their work faces on. No joking no unneeded talking. All communication was necessary and needed. All actions were deliberate and thought out. Sure the nerves got to the best of some and calling the fire a "regular" might have been over kill. I tell you what though, if a fire of any size happens at my house I would rather have over kill than someone slacking or putting off calling for additional help.
So in the end there was a little smoke stain on a wall, a lot of noticeable spider webs, and a few mud prints on the carpet. A door had to be breached to gain access but the firefighter that did it masterfully popped the door with his axe and didn't even damage the door or frame. Overall it was a success. Still left me wanting a little more, ok a lot more. I will take what I can get.
They also let me do blood pressure and pulse on a old lady that fell and busted her tooth and lip. That was great a great confidence booster for me with my EMT stuff. Now I have done stuff in real life that I had been nervous about doing in class. I am feeling better about this EMT stuff everyday.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The number 1 reason why...
Why would anyone in there right mind want to risk it all for complete strangers? The implied answer is because they enjoy it and want to help people. Well, duh. Tip for interviewing, don't ever answer the question of why you want to become a firefighter with the cookie cutter answer of you want to save people. Well no shit! I sure hope you aren't getting into firefighting because you like to watch people die!
So anyway, why would a fairly capable and fairly smart individual choose to be a firefighter? When everyone else is running from a certain situation why would anyone want to be the one to go against the flow of people and head into danger? I look at all the brave first responders at the 9/11 building collapses and see so many examples of masses of people running away while a honorable group of people were fighting against the crowds and debris so they could die doing their job. Which brings up another great point, why would anyone want to die for their job?
Everyone has there own reasons. A lot of them are probably similar, and everyone probably has a few that is on no one else's list. My list is very long and I will attempt to discuss my reasons why as time goes on. If anything just to remind myself of why I am doing this.
So the number one, top of the list, reason why I am doing this is my daughters. Might seem weird at first, especially because I had a hard time growing up with a firefighter as a father. But time passed and I understood what it was all about. I am sure the girls will figure it out some day too. My girls are pretty much my reason for living. Ok, not pretty much they ARE my reason for living. My wife deserves some credit for keeping me alive too, but without those girls I don't know that I would care what I was. With those girls I have a purpose greater than myself. I am not religious, nor do I care to be, so I guess these girls are my god. I answer to them ultimately. Any good or bad I do I will ultimately have to stand in front of them for judgment. Which makes me want to do good things. They make me want to accomplish something in my life. They make me want to be something to be proud of. I don't need to be a hero to anyone, outside of my house. I have a direct desire to be a hero, the all powerful, big, strong, invincible dad that story tellers talk about. Not to anyone else, just to those girls. There is a clear burden with this philosophy and that is there is a huge amount of risk with this job. I won't always be invincible and wont' always be the hero in every situation. But I don't doubt, that at the end of the day if I have tried my hardest and done my best I will be a hero to those girls. My number one reason to be a firefighter is also gives me my number one job once I become one.
I am studying and working my ass off to be the best firefighter I can be. So that once I become one I already have the mind frame of hard work, and dedication to my training. Because ultimately, once I am hired on a department, my number one reason for wanting to become a firefighter changes to my number one job as a firefighter. Making sure I get home every morning so I can kiss and hug those girls.
So anyway, why would a fairly capable and fairly smart individual choose to be a firefighter? When everyone else is running from a certain situation why would anyone want to be the one to go against the flow of people and head into danger? I look at all the brave first responders at the 9/11 building collapses and see so many examples of masses of people running away while a honorable group of people were fighting against the crowds and debris so they could die doing their job. Which brings up another great point, why would anyone want to die for their job?
Everyone has there own reasons. A lot of them are probably similar, and everyone probably has a few that is on no one else's list. My list is very long and I will attempt to discuss my reasons why as time goes on. If anything just to remind myself of why I am doing this.
So the number one, top of the list, reason why I am doing this is my daughters. Might seem weird at first, especially because I had a hard time growing up with a firefighter as a father. But time passed and I understood what it was all about. I am sure the girls will figure it out some day too. My girls are pretty much my reason for living. Ok, not pretty much they ARE my reason for living. My wife deserves some credit for keeping me alive too, but without those girls I don't know that I would care what I was. With those girls I have a purpose greater than myself. I am not religious, nor do I care to be, so I guess these girls are my god. I answer to them ultimately. Any good or bad I do I will ultimately have to stand in front of them for judgment. Which makes me want to do good things. They make me want to accomplish something in my life. They make me want to be something to be proud of. I don't need to be a hero to anyone, outside of my house. I have a direct desire to be a hero, the all powerful, big, strong, invincible dad that story tellers talk about. Not to anyone else, just to those girls. There is a clear burden with this philosophy and that is there is a huge amount of risk with this job. I won't always be invincible and wont' always be the hero in every situation. But I don't doubt, that at the end of the day if I have tried my hardest and done my best I will be a hero to those girls. My number one reason to be a firefighter is also gives me my number one job once I become one.
I am studying and working my ass off to be the best firefighter I can be. So that once I become one I already have the mind frame of hard work, and dedication to my training. Because ultimately, once I am hired on a department, my number one reason for wanting to become a firefighter changes to my number one job as a firefighter. Making sure I get home every morning so I can kiss and hug those girls.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
One more week...
I will take just a second to say I got a 79% on my first EMT test. I felt good about it and I will take a 79% for sure.
So next week I get to ride with Consolidated Fire District #2 of North East Johnson County. Wow, you need to take a breath before attempting to say that one out loud. This is the department that my dad work for over 25 years with. Needless to say there will be a few familiar faces when I show up to the station at 0800. I will have to fight the temptation to be to relaxed or laid back with the guys since I know them already. Every time I have an interaction with a firefighter or department I have to treat it as if I am on a job interview. Right now I am making a name for myself and the network of people I spin around me now will pay off when job application time comes. That means making sure to have my pleases and thank yous ready. Along with my Mr. and Mrs.'s, Captains and Chiefs. Not that i have a problem with that, I just have a feeling I will get a lot more shit from these guys than I got in Shawnee last month.
In Shawnee the guy gave each other plenty of shit. The firefighters would give each other hard times constantly. The Med-act paramedics and the firefighters were a constant comedy routine, one upping each other with every interaction. The Battalion Chief made funny faces and talked in a silly voice every time he showed his face in the day room. They referred to their chief as Forrest Gump and only after an impression did I realize who they were talking about. It was a very "good ol' boys" feel in the station. I am sure it is that way to a certain extent everywhere. I just expected a little more discipline and respect I guess, a more "traditional" fire house experience.
I am walking into District 2 with some higher expectations. I am sure there will still be plenty of jokes, gags and hard times handed out. But I expect to hear a few, "Hey Captain," or "Excuse me Chief," being thrown around. Where I had to ask for a tour of the bay in Shawnee I am expecting a tour without asking in the district. Maybe it will be a similar experience to what I had in Shawnee too. By no means am I trying to talk badly about them or paint a negative picture. When I have my certificated in hand I would apply for a job there without a second thought given. It just will be interesting to see what, if any, difference there are from a one department to the other.
Even if everything is pretty much the same this time around, I hope one thing that does change is the amount of calls we run. Even 2 would be more exciting than one that we ran last month.
So next week I get to ride with Consolidated Fire District #2 of North East Johnson County. Wow, you need to take a breath before attempting to say that one out loud. This is the department that my dad work for over 25 years with. Needless to say there will be a few familiar faces when I show up to the station at 0800. I will have to fight the temptation to be to relaxed or laid back with the guys since I know them already. Every time I have an interaction with a firefighter or department I have to treat it as if I am on a job interview. Right now I am making a name for myself and the network of people I spin around me now will pay off when job application time comes. That means making sure to have my pleases and thank yous ready. Along with my Mr. and Mrs.'s, Captains and Chiefs. Not that i have a problem with that, I just have a feeling I will get a lot more shit from these guys than I got in Shawnee last month.
In Shawnee the guy gave each other plenty of shit. The firefighters would give each other hard times constantly. The Med-act paramedics and the firefighters were a constant comedy routine, one upping each other with every interaction. The Battalion Chief made funny faces and talked in a silly voice every time he showed his face in the day room. They referred to their chief as Forrest Gump and only after an impression did I realize who they were talking about. It was a very "good ol' boys" feel in the station. I am sure it is that way to a certain extent everywhere. I just expected a little more discipline and respect I guess, a more "traditional" fire house experience.
I am walking into District 2 with some higher expectations. I am sure there will still be plenty of jokes, gags and hard times handed out. But I expect to hear a few, "Hey Captain," or "Excuse me Chief," being thrown around. Where I had to ask for a tour of the bay in Shawnee I am expecting a tour without asking in the district. Maybe it will be a similar experience to what I had in Shawnee too. By no means am I trying to talk badly about them or paint a negative picture. When I have my certificated in hand I would apply for a job there without a second thought given. It just will be interesting to see what, if any, difference there are from a one department to the other.
Even if everything is pretty much the same this time around, I hope one thing that does change is the amount of calls we run. Even 2 would be more exciting than one that we ran last month.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
No school today
Last night was the first test for my EMT class. I think I did pretty well, but I will know for sure tomorrow. For today I am just happy to have nothing to do tonight. I have been running around crazy for a while and I am happy to have a night to spend with my girls.
The written test seemed to go well. The practical I took afterwords was a nightmare. Luckily, a instructor I had never met before was very nice about how crappy I was doing things. The practical was about how well I can do scene size up, initial assessment and rapid trauma assessment. Scene size was easy; scene size up, bsi, is the scene safe?, how many patients?, medical or trauma? and a transport decision. OK, check. Initial assessment is where it went down hill. I nailed the general impression, c-spine support and chief complaint. After that things get fuzzy. I got my A,B,C's but missed some of the steps for each. OK, airway, is it open and clear? Breathing, look, listen, feel. That includes asking the patient if they are having trouble breathing and listen to two spots on their chest. I need to ask my partner now to get O2 and we will hook up the patient on a non-re breather mask for 15 liters. Then Circulation. I need to check that both radial and carotid pluses are present and equal. Then I need to check perfusion and do a sweep for body fluids. On to level on consciousness checks. Ask my three questions or move onto verbal or pain responses. Once that is done we are back to a transport decision.
OK, that was all without looking so I will have to check myself out now. I won't bore you or myself with the rapid trauma yet, since i need to make sure i know this for sure.
I watched this process happen in about 30 seconds back on the 30th of January. I rode with the Shawnee Fire Department. we only had one call and it happened to be a trauma call. A man fell about 15 feet from his ladder and landed chest first on the beam of the ladder. The Shawnee firefighters jumped right in and began this process immediately. To my surprise they had all the mans information before the medics even got there. They worked efficiently without having to do much communication between each other. It was nice to see the stuff I am learning in action and I believe it will help me to better visualize this stuff in the future. I guess we will see...
and of course the spell check won't work for some reason and I am a horrible speller.
The written test seemed to go well. The practical I took afterwords was a nightmare. Luckily, a instructor I had never met before was very nice about how crappy I was doing things. The practical was about how well I can do scene size up, initial assessment and rapid trauma assessment. Scene size was easy; scene size up, bsi, is the scene safe?, how many patients?, medical or trauma? and a transport decision. OK, check. Initial assessment is where it went down hill. I nailed the general impression, c-spine support and chief complaint. After that things get fuzzy. I got my A,B,C's but missed some of the steps for each. OK, airway, is it open and clear? Breathing, look, listen, feel. That includes asking the patient if they are having trouble breathing and listen to two spots on their chest. I need to ask my partner now to get O2 and we will hook up the patient on a non-re breather mask for 15 liters. Then Circulation. I need to check that both radial and carotid pluses are present and equal. Then I need to check perfusion and do a sweep for body fluids. On to level on consciousness checks. Ask my three questions or move onto verbal or pain responses. Once that is done we are back to a transport decision.
OK, that was all without looking so I will have to check myself out now. I won't bore you or myself with the rapid trauma yet, since i need to make sure i know this for sure.
I watched this process happen in about 30 seconds back on the 30th of January. I rode with the Shawnee Fire Department. we only had one call and it happened to be a trauma call. A man fell about 15 feet from his ladder and landed chest first on the beam of the ladder. The Shawnee firefighters jumped right in and began this process immediately. To my surprise they had all the mans information before the medics even got there. They worked efficiently without having to do much communication between each other. It was nice to see the stuff I am learning in action and I believe it will help me to better visualize this stuff in the future. I guess we will see...
and of course the spell check won't work for some reason and I am a horrible speller.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The Story so far...
Well, here we are, two firefighting certificates and two haz mat certificates in hand and nothing but an EMT certificate holding me back from my ultimate goal. The fire acadamy was a lot of fun. It was held at the Overland Park training center that has a tower with mutiple burn props in it along with many other fun props that allowed for a quality firefighting education. I really miss that time and had no idea that I would miss it as bad as I do. I guess it just makes me want to work harder with this EMT class so that I can be applying for jobs as soon as this semster is over. Hence the study tips I am providing myself to stay motivated in other posts.
In the acadamy we were all divided into four person companys. I was divided up with a guy I went to high school with, a guy we happened to meet in the hall way before the first class started and a random starnger that by complete chance ended up with us. In the end I would be very proud of our company and be so happy I was put with three other able mind, bodied and motivated to accomplish our common goal. There is no doubt in my mind that I have developed relationships that will follow me the rest of my life. Good guys all the way around and shall our paths cross again in the future I would trust them with my life without a second thought. Big ups Company 3!
We would have class every Wednesday and Thursday nights and then again on Saturday morning. For the majority of the time week nights we lecture time while Saturdays were live practice. I miss having a full set of bunker gear. I won't have another until I am hired on a paid department. I might possible be a volunteer if I can't immediately find a job but I am hoping luck will be on my side and I am able to find work rather quickly. I miss having a helmet and air pack. I never thought I would miss pulling around hose or throwing ladders but I do.
Well, until next time.
In the acadamy we were all divided into four person companys. I was divided up with a guy I went to high school with, a guy we happened to meet in the hall way before the first class started and a random starnger that by complete chance ended up with us. In the end I would be very proud of our company and be so happy I was put with three other able mind, bodied and motivated to accomplish our common goal. There is no doubt in my mind that I have developed relationships that will follow me the rest of my life. Good guys all the way around and shall our paths cross again in the future I would trust them with my life without a second thought. Big ups Company 3!
We would have class every Wednesday and Thursday nights and then again on Saturday morning. For the majority of the time week nights we lecture time while Saturdays were live practice. I miss having a full set of bunker gear. I won't have another until I am hired on a paid department. I might possible be a volunteer if I can't immediately find a job but I am hoping luck will be on my side and I am able to find work rather quickly. I miss having a helmet and air pack. I never thought I would miss pulling around hose or throwing ladders but I do.
Well, until next time.
Intial Assesment
General Impression: Age/race/gender
Audibile breathing noises
Mechanism Of Injury(MOI)/Nature Of Illness(NOI)
Bodily Fluids
E(i)minate life threats
Resposiveness
Position/movement
Color
Patient Piority/transport decision
C-Spine Stablization - first time you will touch patient
Assess Resposivness - first time you will talk to patient
Chief Complaint
Airway - Is it open? Is it clear?
Breathing - Is it present? Is it adequate? Is the chest wall intact?
Circulation - Pulse: Is it present? Are the radial and cariotid equal?
Level Of Consciousness - Alert
Verbal stimulus response
Painful stimulus response
Unresponsvie
Traspost Descision/need for ALS backup
Audibile breathing noises
Mechanism Of Injury(MOI)/Nature Of Illness(NOI)
Bodily Fluids
E(i)minate life threats
Resposiveness
Position/movement
Color
Patient Piority/transport decision
C-Spine Stablization - first time you will touch patient
Assess Resposivness - first time you will talk to patient
Chief Complaint
Airway - Is it open? Is it clear?
Breathing - Is it present? Is it adequate? Is the chest wall intact?
Circulation - Pulse: Is it present? Are the radial and cariotid equal?
Level Of Consciousness - Alert
Verbal stimulus response
Painful stimulus response
Unresponsvie
Traspost Descision/need for ALS backup
Scene Size Up
Bodily Substance Isolation(BSI): donning of gloves, eye protection and any other needed protection from the possible contact with bodily fluids.
Scene Safety: Check for possible hazards that could put my life n danger.
Determine Number of Patients
Trauma or Medical
Need for additional resources
Scene Safety: Check for possible hazards that could put my life n danger.
Determine Number of Patients
Trauma or Medical
Need for additional resources
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