tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86081574216532799762024-03-04T23:29:41.772-07:00Smoke Before FireWhere there's smoke, there's fire...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-1052057132820519442011-08-10T16:06:00.007-06:002011-08-10T16:13:39.032-06:00We're Not Moving!So given the outcry of the rumor mill of having blogger change to Google Blogs and forever be associated with Google +. Google came out with some sort of press release stating that they would not be doing such a thing. So with that, Smoke Before Fire will not be moving. (A big apology to those who updated their links to reflect the wordpress address.<br />
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Please look forward to September when Smoke Before Fire will come back from Summer Vacation. But while you are waiting I would love for you guys to check out a new personal blog. Go to it by clicking the image below.<br />
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<a href="http://markedasread.blogspot.com/"><span id="goog_2002472788"></span><span id="goog_2002472791"></span><span id="goog_2002472794"></span><span id="goog_2002472798"></span><span id="goog_878832774"></span><span id="goog_878832780"></span><span id="goog_878832784"></span><img border="0" height="75" id=":current_picnik_image" link="http://markedasread.blogspot.com" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIokCZ8QziOkfIfS0Tnz3VQ_rIA9RQ8R873A2iVjxddPjgUFD2jhYhuFHFeXXxLMqxhDOf49A9N2HmET1uGorJoPP3l2bSFjJMGYy3YkB1nT6EQv4FHuKjUDLK6huoIZB9cTR01_Y6xs4/s320/marked.jpg" width="320" /><span id="goog_878832785"></span></a><span id="goog_878832781"></span><span id="goog_878832775"></span><span id="goog_2002472799"></span><span id="goog_2002472795"></span><span id="goog_2002472792"></span><span id="goog_2002472789"></span></div>
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With that, stay tuned and stay safe!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-41578656905653700152011-07-06T20:00:00.000-06:002011-07-06T20:00:39.021-06:00We're Moving!Given that Blogger is changing to Google Blogs and further integrating with Google's own, very new, social network I did not want my blog integrated with my profile so I will be moving my blog to smokebeforefire.wordpress.com. So update your browsers and stay tuned. By the by if you head on over to that link now you will see a filler post and not much excitement, give it time, it will be up to snuff very soon!<br />
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<i>Update:</i> I was recently promoted to manager of the Billings branch of Eagle so I am currently trying to get that figured out. So as of right now, Smoke Before Fire will be going on hiatus until the end of July. Not much of a hiatus but don't abandon hope! I will return!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-23643534821437716672011-06-15T12:43:00.000-06:002011-06-15T12:43:04.426-06:00The Next UpdateWhat's going on ladies and gentlemen? Again it's been a while and I do apologize. Here is what I have been up to in bullet form:<br />
<ul><li>Moved to Billings</li>
<li>Survived a hellish thunderstorm with tornadoes. Not in Billings exactly but in surrounding areas. </li>
<li>Playing catch up on I-99 studying. (Taking most of my time)</li>
<li>Building the Eagle web site. (You will be linked to it as soon as I get it up to par)</li>
<li>Took over on managing supplies and airport security stuff for Eagle.</li>
</ul><div>All this coupled with the lack of stable internet means I can't get a good post on here. However we will be getting internet soon and posts galore! So stay tuned for that and stay safe!</div><div><br />
</div><div>P.S. Also here is a link to a video I took of the swirling clouds. Stay tuned for next time where I post a video of the gas explosion that happened!</div><div><br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-29016188817189536262011-05-22T15:41:00.000-06:002011-05-22T15:41:11.853-06:00Life Goes On: The ComebackSo as you can see (for those of you that check) it's been a long time since my last update and I have a bunch of reasons why. First school was ending. Firefighter one was taxing an unsurmountable amount of time, coupled with working about 25 hours a week with the i-99 class I was struggling to find any spare time as it was. Then I graduated with a 3.79 GPA and right after that my fiancee and I moved to Billings. Finally after getting unpacked and back to Helena to finish cleaning the apartment, gotta get that deposit back, I finally had a moment to breathe.<br />
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The aftermath of living such a busy life includes:<br />
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- Little time with my sweetie<br />
- Putting off getting a beer with a buddy and not being able to anymore because he was killed in a work related accident.<br />
- Falling really behind in I-99 class but not too far behind.<br />
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The middle one really bothers me in that he was my friend and roommate and someone who I could count on. The first one bothers me because well, I love spending time with her and not getting to see her much was pretty lame. <br />
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But in that busy time my firefighting/ems career is moving forward. I am currently applying for a reserve firefighter position with Lockwood Fire Department which involves:<br />
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- Two 12 hour sleeper shifts a month<br />
- One 24 hour on call period.<br />
- General Alarm on call covering should the need arise.<br />
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Couple that with my full time EMT position I will have my fill of EMS. More on that as soon as I pass their physical and written consoritum tests. I will keep you posted.<br />
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As for everything else, that's about it, look for all the back posts I started that I will now have time to finish. Until then, stay tuned and stay safe.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-9300117474993858352011-04-20T06:27:00.001-06:002011-04-20T06:27:41.648-06:00Coming Soonso it has been a while since I have updated this. not out of abandoning but more out of<br />
the fact that I have no time to edit the blog. I have had a few things to write about and I<br />
will be updating the blog this weekend probably with everything that is going on firewise.<br />
stay tuned!!!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-70745755776034129512011-03-22T15:34:00.000-06:002011-03-22T15:34:25.953-06:00The Patriot Flag Ceremony<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiki2BS4XGJRXyeJt-UBAY2kko7UOzrYoGmdfzvCbPvilXsRSeT5QpqRXBsii1ck-RJwISDGqJB9hOUPpIXn9wG_fGDSCzi3nb8H2A9qItqVVS9QRUAsS6sEHZZUIB87_6hbrzgRgBlNvU/s1600/2011-03-03_13-26-30_58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiki2BS4XGJRXyeJt-UBAY2kko7UOzrYoGmdfzvCbPvilXsRSeT5QpqRXBsii1ck-RJwISDGqJB9hOUPpIXn9wG_fGDSCzi3nb8H2A9qItqVVS9QRUAsS6sEHZZUIB87_6hbrzgRgBlNvU/s200/2011-03-03_13-26-30_58.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwRtLKvh3kayBaqeI_U1Ywrx5kw4_eEjOkSN0FOEIZBowkdbD7X-Xo2aDbiPSO11dE66OkLu5OGByXfmFwUTrUzWV24xIKFK7BEK_BkIBAcCnk2vTAFw1e_GyieZ0drjpTDxxOAKu4VE/s1600/2011-03-03_11-20-23_728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwRtLKvh3kayBaqeI_U1Ywrx5kw4_eEjOkSN0FOEIZBowkdbD7X-Xo2aDbiPSO11dE66OkLu5OGByXfmFwUTrUzWV24xIKFK7BEK_BkIBAcCnk2vTAFw1e_GyieZ0drjpTDxxOAKu4VE/s200/2011-03-03_11-20-23_728.jpg" width="112" /></a>On the third day of my internship was a ceremony for the Patriot Flag. For those that don't know the Patriot Flag is a giant, 30ft x 58ft to be exact or the size of a regular volleyball court, flag that will be flown at Fort McKinley. There is another flag that is signed by those participating in the ceremony along with a sort of guest book style book that you could sign. The flag will be displayed in each of the 50 states before it is flown permanently.<br />
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We started by shoveling the sidewalk of snow then brought weights up from the gym to weigh down the banner of the names of those that died in the terrorist attacks during 9/11. Afterwards we placed the banner and worked on the row of flags that adorned the side of the Civic Center. Afterwards the firefighters signed the flag and I stood back, not wanting to overstep my bounds in signing it I was told by the chief to sign it. As I was apart of putting the ceremony together I should be able to sign it. A humbling moment I am truly grateful for. Being able to sign something that will be on display at the memorial at Ground Zero was simply daunting. I didn't register it at first. I just signed it, but as the day drove on and I continued in helping with the ceremony the magnitude of it started sinking in.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGHNRTWvuLfA8mknoG6RPxEjhiudsNQrcyYalcFAmThXJ6p7VJV2QPMSHDoipkCM4WuMK8u-nYzlaR7r2t-2iRndxyCskV3Z2hUsafuNXOM1AnJos6zBe6z8g6t6bOj6jaMyy114OnTg/s1600/2011-03-03_11-16-39_545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGHNRTWvuLfA8mknoG6RPxEjhiudsNQrcyYalcFAmThXJ6p7VJV2QPMSHDoipkCM4WuMK8u-nYzlaR7r2t-2iRndxyCskV3Z2hUsafuNXOM1AnJos6zBe6z8g6t6bOj6jaMyy114OnTg/s200/2011-03-03_11-16-39_545.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZR-l7INuBecZtvzax9FbieykOgm3SI0edzMT9nm3Q_QWFQEz2cgq6ABXEJWmzILOyLFoA9Hpl9jYHane5z_uSzhyphenhyphenAKJUZZ3RMJn3K7Dt9dQfXVI_ZDsCOqBO6Vom1o6CAP_trAtIdbI4/s1600/2011-03-03_11-19-22_383.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZR-l7INuBecZtvzax9FbieykOgm3SI0edzMT9nm3Q_QWFQEz2cgq6ABXEJWmzILOyLFoA9Hpl9jYHane5z_uSzhyphenhyphenAKJUZZ3RMJn3K7Dt9dQfXVI_ZDsCOqBO6Vom1o6CAP_trAtIdbI4/s200/2011-03-03_11-19-22_383.jpg" width="112" /></a>I think the moment in which the gravity hit me was as we were raising the giant flag. It took a bunch of us to unroll the flag and as I looked up (picture left) to see the flag towering over me, blocking out the sun and casting a deep shadow. We waved the flag and as you can see from the pictures below it was a pretty impressive view.<br />
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Folding the flag was a task in itself. It took all of Helena Fire and a few others to fold it. The flag weighs 60lbs. We folded it up then set it inside it's case until the ceremony started.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwRtLKvh3kayBaqeI_U1Ywrx5kw4_eEjOkSN0FOEIZBowkdbD7X-Xo2aDbiPSO11dE66OkLu5OGByXfmFwUTrUzWV24xIKFK7BEK_BkIBAcCnk2vTAFw1e_GyieZ0drjpTDxxOAKu4VE/s1600/2011-03-03_11-20-23_728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwRtLKvh3kayBaqeI_U1Ywrx5kw4_eEjOkSN0FOEIZBowkdbD7X-Xo2aDbiPSO11dE66OkLu5OGByXfmFwUTrUzWV24xIKFK7BEK_BkIBAcCnk2vTAFw1e_GyieZ0drjpTDxxOAKu4VE/s200/2011-03-03_11-20-23_728.jpg" width="112" /></a>We dressed in turnouts except those who were in the honor guard. They wore their Class A uniforms. We stood in a line as the honor guard brought the flag up to the podium. We watched as the governor, mayor, and a few others gave speeches and then we folded the flag. The ceremony finished and we packaged the flag and sent it to FedEx where it could be shipped to the next place of ceremony.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHvTP-kXX3OSWD7MG8wygcEe1ZAQOXCn_bDjvq7jCXT96vU7IS3edTbtUhuxrDh-CoOstiCqlgi4DPDmf5TXvLrGw9uvg6zJDTHa2HjaKqh4TDolz8pv9RcozNsWZEDV3cdHHdhkh998/s1600/2011-03-03_11-23-31_46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHvTP-kXX3OSWD7MG8wygcEe1ZAQOXCn_bDjvq7jCXT96vU7IS3edTbtUhuxrDh-CoOstiCqlgi4DPDmf5TXvLrGw9uvg6zJDTHa2HjaKqh4TDolz8pv9RcozNsWZEDV3cdHHdhkh998/s200/2011-03-03_11-23-31_46.jpg" width="112" /></a>Those who died in the Towers; Police, EMS, the 343 firefighters, and civilians were given a fitting ceremony. They were honored and will forever be honored by the thousands of people who will share in seeing the flag flying in the breeze, those who signed the flag, and those who scribbled their chicken scratch in the signature book. They all came together with respect for the fallen. They all parted with the ceremony engraved in their minds.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWlgz5cqlkL3BK8VGgYhEvRk3AU3CwbbdVZGub-ECMDD5FFEqBoUXdhUshl_3VmbQFMGn8MvjR0IZDJgXD9inN8Y3IpgUi90zIYAfbZKwq7vqh9OWNLYiyI5PL-JNj-mUUJP-9LZ40M0/s1600/2011-03-03_13-25-56_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWlgz5cqlkL3BK8VGgYhEvRk3AU3CwbbdVZGub-ECMDD5FFEqBoUXdhUshl_3VmbQFMGn8MvjR0IZDJgXD9inN8Y3IpgUi90zIYAfbZKwq7vqh9OWNLYiyI5PL-JNj-mUUJP-9LZ40M0/s200/2011-03-03_13-25-56_720.jpg" width="112" /></a></div>I shared in a once in the lifetime moment with a brotherhood that I haven't fully been welcomed into but being able to participate in this, and having them share something so special with me put me one step closer. It's a memory I'll never forget.<br />
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You can read the Helena IR article <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKaSQF2QgoE">here</a> and watch the YouTube video <a href="http://helenair.com/news/article_22f8bfd0-4631-11e0-9eee-001cc4c03286.html">here</a>. Until next time, stay safe, and stay tuned!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-28417567217309763102011-03-22T09:15:00.000-06:002011-03-22T09:15:55.453-06:00Integrity: More Than Just a WordWe are faced with choices everyday. Some are mundane as what we want to eat for lunch, others define who we are, our very character. Everyone has a price, that point in which they put aside their integrity for convenience. Why am I writing about this you ask? Well we watched a scene like this play out at our own local fire department.<br />
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I recently received a press release in my email about two Montana City Firefighters being arrested. At first I didn't think much about it but I wondered whom. We had a meeting that I missed but later found out the details of. Turns out that two of our firefighters, one a ranking captain that had been in the department for over 20 years were using the credit cards from our apparatuses to buy gas for their own cars. The amount totals somewhere between 8-12 thousand dollars. A felony. The captain had been doing this since 2005. His brother for a little over a year. However his brother, had also stolen an airpack from the station.<br />
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They were arrested and could face up to 5 years in jail. It created a need in the fire department for more accountability. What could have become an anti-trusting backlash turned into a push for everyone to be held accountable and a continuation of the trust officers have in the rest of us.<br />
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We all have a price. Watch the news, you can see it daily. I don't know what my price is. I don't know if it can ever be discovered. I don't look forward to the day it is. Those that chose to steal, commit fraud, etc choose to for a variety of reasons. Be it personal gain, be it falling on hard times, be it convenience and so on, we do it for benefit. Our captain fell on hard times in a lack of money. He found his price, his lack in integrity.<br />
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However it's not so black and white, with the human race it never is. I feel bad for the guy. He did what he had to because he was desperate. However, with the fire department it becomes that much more intense. We are held to a higher standard than most. Mostly because of the image we have to maintain. Pure, strong, moral are just three of the many positive traits we take on to maintain on and off duty. Does that make us infallible, not a chance.<br />
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Like I said, everyday we are faced with choices and everyone has a price. I don't know mine, and I don't know which direction I'd take. I like to think that because I have worked as hard as I have, overcome the upbringing I've had to get where I am that I am unmoving in my integrity, but everyone has a price. My drive will help me in keeping my moral compass true north, and each choice I make will continue to define who I am. That is all I can hope for, because hey, I'm only human.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-28284599745071555812011-03-02T13:09:00.000-07:002011-03-02T13:09:55.416-07:00Sexism and A Delay of CareThe other day at work I witnessed something that has plagued my field for years. A call came in for a lady complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath. One of our ACLS EMT's was going to go on the call and we sent one of our EMT-B's up from Billings doing 911 ride a longs. Well the Advanced EMT needed a partner so I told one of our female EMT's to go with him, and as I did he bluntly stated that he wanted a male partner in case the patient was heavy. After stating that the female EMT partner would still go the other EMT refused to go on the call, delaying care for what could potentially be, a serious call. Luckily we had a paramedic on duty at the time who went in this EMT's place.<br />
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This to me is a shocking and yet common case in Firefighting, and EMS. We talk of the fire department being a boys club. I've heard firefighter's talking about women in the fire department will never be a common thing. There has been a major boom in the opposite direction though as more fire departments are hiring females to shatter this image. Even in volunteer departments this designation of it being a boy's club is starting to go by the way side. So why is it that even with the move towards more balanced fire departments does this problem of sexism come play over and over?<br />
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The simplest way of putting it is, tradition. Tradition is what holds a fire department together. The glue of the firehouse if you will. Long has the this been a boys club. Since it's earliest days in the United States the fire service has the fire department been staffed by men. This tradition, as with most traditions is slow changing. Listening to the older, experienced guys talk about how firefighting has been and always will be a man's game. The new firefighter, wanting to impress the older guys and learn the FD ways will take on this mentality. On tradition begets tradition.<br />
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How do we change this tradition? The simplest way to do it is to let the older firefighters believe in the boys club tradition, but not to let it change the new firefighter's mind frame. Welcoming everyone that can do the task and watch our backs shouldn't be discouraged. It should be our primary goal. So keep a positive outlook, welcome those who are willing to help, and don't let tradition of the wrong magnitude change your view on who is welcomed in the fire department. Doing that we can focus more on our customers.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-32751124261416836872011-02-21T19:53:00.000-07:002011-02-21T19:53:34.671-07:00Coming Soon!I haven't forgotten the blog, I am in the middle of a post on being Retired on Duty so look forward to that. Oh I also received a new laptop from google, so I will be talking about that some. Stay tuned!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-49586502931475248582011-01-30T09:07:00.000-07:002011-01-30T09:07:22.443-07:00The Firefighter Anthem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I came home after a long day of work to find my sweetie bright eyed and grinning from ear to ear. I noticed her computer on youtube and she was like, "I have something awesome to show you." Well what she found was pretty awesome. In fact it is so awesome that it became my ringtone. These folk made a tribute to us Firefighters and I thank them for it. It does each one of us justice. So without further adieu... <i>The Firefighter Anthem.</i> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/gO9yVs4aIP4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-34379030725612610032011-01-30T08:10:00.000-07:002011-01-30T08:10:04.619-07:00The Weight VestOkay well I started this post and I thought I had finished and posted it but alas, I did not. That's what I get for taking 21 credits and working. So without anymore stalling here we go.<br />
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<b><u>The Weight Vest</u></b><br />
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So this past Christmas my sweetie got me a weight vest. For those of you that don't know it is pretty much what the name says. A vest that is weighted. You can add weight in 2.5lb increments. The weights I have add up to 70lbs. You can add more but 70 pounds is the equivalent of turn outs and SCBA pack weight. As this is a new tool for me I am currently looking for new workouts that will help me in using this to the best of my ability. So as I find work outs I will post them on here under the heading Physical Training. So look for that.<br />
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Stay safe!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-87027547133035145172011-01-18T13:44:00.000-07:002011-01-18T13:44:04.670-07:00Complacency<div>As described in the Fire Service it is a dulling of the senses, becoming content in routine and mulling over the day in/day out tasks. Complacency causes us to stop learning to look at calls as mundane. To not be prepared for the big one, if you will. </div><div><br />
</div>I haven't been in the EMS field long. Certainly not long enough to be a victim of complacency but after a recent call I had I couldn't help but dwell on the fact that I had in the very essence of the word, complacent. Here's the back story.<br />
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It was this past Sunday and I had just started my shift. A bright and early 7am. I had just finished the daily check lists and the phone rang. I recognized the number, a local nursing home. I thought to myself oh great what could it be this time? A stubbed toe? A presumed fall that didn't actually happen? Who knows. I received the information from the nurse and it was what I had presumed. A patient with shortness of breath and had an 02 saturation of less than 90%. This is usually a pretty run of the mill call. Bring in to the ER, they check them out for pneumonia and we bring them back. Well we ran code to the Nursing home as per our directives. When we got there a scene unfolded that I wasn't quite mentally prepared for. We walked in and the nurses told us to run, the patient is coding. For those of you that don't know, when a patient is coding they are void of a pulse or any other vital signs, circling the drain or on the brink of death.<br />
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I ran to get the heart monitor and jump kit as my medic partner went to assess the situation. As I was running back the hospital medic service was pulling in. We went in and I fielded all the tools my partner needed and I was amazed at being able to remember where everything was. Thank you daily/weekly checks, I will never take you for granted again. I jumped in and started doing chest compressions. This was the first call where I was having to do them. My partner was working on establishing an airway and the hospital medics were working on hooking up an IV. Well sadly to say we couldn't get a line and had been performing CPR for too long and the hospital medics called medical control and called the guy.<br />
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Now I bet you are probably wondering just where I became complacent or maybe you have an idea. It was at the beginning of the call. Through countless Nursing home calls that turned out to be nothing I grew accustom to the routine. I did not treat each call like the big one. Did the patient receive a lack of proper care because of it? No. I was lucky, we showed up and did everything we could, the best we could. Could we have done anything differently on the call? I'm not sure. I could have gone into the call with a better attitude for sure.<br />
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What sticks with me and what will stick with me is I let a series of mundane calls cloud my judgment on other calls. What I swore not to do is the very thing I did. However what I came to understand is that it happens. Complacency hits everyone and no one is free from it. But if we are more proactive about our jobs, and we look at each call differently, or each shift differently, the job doesn't become mundane, it doesn't become routine. This in itself brings us closer to becoming less complacent and better care providers. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-84352353275215101352010-12-31T09:22:00.000-07:002010-12-31T09:22:58.063-07:00A Year in Review, Resolutions, The Suicide and A Look AheadWell howdy gang, it has been entirely too long since I have updated Smoke Before Fire. No I haven't abandoned the blog, I have just been entirely too busy. So let's kick it off, my last post of 2010.<br />
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<b><u>Helena</u></b><br />
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So after living here for a year come August I came up with the amazing revelation that in such a short time I had built a complete life here. Friends, a worthwhile job that I enjoyed and finishing my schooling combined into a nice place to live and thrive. Throw into that equation the fact that my sweetie came back from Japan and we "took the next step" and moved in together it comes as a complete package. As I stated before, an amazing revelation.<br />
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<b><u>A Year in Review</u></b><br />
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This year has been busy. I've come into my own as an EMT-Basic and have seen some incidents that I still think about. I have even pushed myself further in becoming an ALS provider by getting my endorsements. I admit I am still intimidated by the fact that I can do these procedures but I am slowly becoming comfortable with them. I have joined a volunteer fire department that I am proud to be apart of. We don't run a lot of calls, roughly 60 a year, but they take firefighting seriously and I am amazed at the amount of experience they bring to the table. All of this as helped push me further into the EMS field and I am thankful for every day I am apart of it.<br />
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<b><u>Resolutions</u></b><br />
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As the year is coming to an end it's time for New Year's Resolutions... The promises we make to ourselves that seem to fizzle out and something we seem to start to dread every year we make them. Am I going to make a New Years resolution? Yes and no. I am going to work out more, I am going to love more, I am going to enjoy life more, not because I feel that I am obligated to make such resolutions, but more because that's how I want to live my life. So no in the aspect that it isn't a resolution and more of a daily choice. Lame sounding I know, but very true.<br />
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<b><u>My Third Semester</u></b><br />
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Well I am 75% of the way done with school. This semester didn't end in the 4.0 I had expected but in a 3.5 bringing my accumulative GPA to a 3.8. Everyone chalks it up to my sweetie being back but I chalk it up to being busy. A 3.8 isn't bad in my eyes. So I'll accept it. This semester was a lot more book learning and a lot less hands on which made the semester drag on but I made it through.<br />
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<b><u>The Suicide</u></b><br />
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About two months ago I wrote about that call. The one that haunts us and at the end of the post I wrote about how I would see more calls that would stick with me. Well about three weeks ago my medic buddy and I were working when we were paged out for an apparent suicide. We got there and came into see a person who had used a gun to commit suicide. Once we saw the gun we backed out and waited for law enforcement. I'm not going to go into details anymore other than I helped officers with their investigation and then helped transport the person to the morgue in Boulder. The person's kid found them and that is where it hit me. But thanks to my friends and family for being supportive of seeing something so shocking. My heartfelt condolences go out to the family in their loss.<br />
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<b><u>A Look Ahead</u></b><br />
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So after a busy year I look forward to my final semester in Helena, my final few months here and a new start in Billings with my lady. I look forward to the internship with the local Fire Department and I look forward to a few pleasant surprises and whatever life plans to throw at me. I wish everyone a Happy New Year and hopes that you all get to spend it with the people that make you happiest. Thanks for reading in 2010 and I look forward to seeing you for another edition of Smoke Before Fire in 2011.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-80934075125525773232010-11-17T13:13:00.000-07:002010-11-17T13:13:23.895-07:00Updates!Hi everyone! It has been an entirely busy few weeks. I battled strep, registered for my final semester of fire and rescue classes, had some 911s, hunkered down for a blizzard and so on. Without wasting time lets jump into it.<br />
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<b><u>My First IV Patients </u></b><br />
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Now I know what you're probably thinking. He's already talked about his first IV patient. Well that's true I have, but that was my first IV patient with people supervising. This was my first patient on my own after the endorsement was applied to my license. A 93 year old lady with dehydration etc. Every IV I tried to do I lost the vein. They would disappear. I was hoping to tell you all of my first successful patient stick but alas, I did not get one on this lady. I could have continued sticking her but rather than treat her like a pin cushion we just got her to the hospital.<br />
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Two Sundays back I had to run a trip to Kalispell for an ALS (Advanced Life Support) run. It was an ALS run because the hospital had a bag flowing with Normal Saline (NS). Plus the doctor wanted us to give the patient insulin. Which I didn't mind you because it is out of my scope of practice. But it wasn't bad. Just watched the bag to make sure it was flowing.<br />
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<b><u>Wildland Fire v. Snow/Sleet Storm</u></b><br />
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Well it is November as you all know which for the state of Montana usually means cold rain storms that turn into sleet then snow. So it was safe to assume that our Wildland fire days for this year were over. Well it just so happened that during a storm like I stated above MCVFD was paged for a wildland fire. We all wore our structure gear and even though there was a combination of rain and snow hitting us, these spot fires had 20-25 foot flame lengths. Pretty amazing for being in a storm. However exciting as it sounded, all it turned out to be was two people with 7 slash piles burning. We waited with a charged hoseline for the fire department whos district it was to come down and tell us what they wanted to do. They were okay with the giant flames and we were cancelled. Lesson learned from this call, Wildland fires can happen all year round, even in cold wet rain/snow storms.<br />
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<b><u>My Battle with Strep</u></b><br />
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Well about three days before Halloween I was hit with an obnoxious cold/flu thing. Fever, chills, nasty sore throat and so on. Real nasty. Well I expected to be over it in a few days. I wasn't. The sore throat was miserable. So I went to the doctor and my quick strep test was negative. So I thought I was fine, but I got a call the next day and the 24 hour culture test was positive. So after 10 days of sickness and 10 days of anti-biotics I am strep free and feeling awesome. Going back to the gym was rough but I did manage to get back up to speed.<br />
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Other than that, not much is going on. As I stated above I registered for my final semester of classes and I really can't wait to be done and off to paramedic school. I don't know why but I have the itch to learn more and more. I blame my sweetie. Always pushing me to be better and stuff. But I'm off for much needed gym time so stay safe and stay tuned!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-17154715727023924702010-11-09T12:28:00.000-07:002010-11-09T12:28:03.968-07:00To The Left...You all may have noticed a widget to the left of these posts showing the names, faces, fire departments and so on of various firefighters. This widget shows those who have died in the fire service, be it a Line of Duty Death (LODD) or something related. It is important to recognize what others have done in this service and what they have given for the safety of others.<br />
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Coming soon to a blog near you:<br />
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- My first IV patient<br />
- Patient's since my IV endorsement<br />
- A wildland fire in the middle of a rain/snow storm.<br />
- My battle with strep throat!<br />
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So stay tuned!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-13630770986216860812010-10-27T20:23:00.000-06:002010-10-27T20:23:16.336-06:00That Call...When I first got into the EMS field I heard stories; stories of close calls that became saves, calls that turned out to be stranger than fiction, and even calls that turned out to be nothing Every EMT has them. Every EMT loves telling them. However when asked one simple question you get a completely opposite reaction. "What's the worst call you've ever been on?" Most people's face expressions become stoic, the moment they remember the call that continues to haunt their thoughts every so often, the one that still comes to them in their dreams.<br />
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It would randomly be brought up from time to time, some able to share that call that got to them, others just dismissing it by changing the subject. Others would blow off their own recollections with suggestions as what was to come for us new EMT folk. Most of the EMS people I talked to were curious as to how I would handle my first truly bad call. I have to be honest I wondered that myself, the thought coming up at least once every time I was paged to a call. Would it cause me to lose sleep like it does most? Would I freeze up being completely useless during the call? Was I cut out to be there in someone else's worst moment?<br />
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Well having that call is inevitable. Sooner or later it is going to happen. The best I can do is do what I have been trained to and do it to the best of my abilities. So I was told, and what I told myself.<br />
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Well I was hoping to finish this rambling with a quip about me still having yet to experience this call and how I think I can handle it. The truth is, Last Friday night, October 22nd I experienced that call. ATV crash with a patient who was DOA. I won't go into details on it as I would rather not like to think about it, but forever will the patient's face, body, everything be burned into my mind, forever will the screams of hysteria and the patient's significant other clutching me haunt my thoughts. I did my job and did what I was supposed to, but I didn't sleep the rest of that night. I'm still waking up every so often with my mind going to that night. Yeah these calls will become easier in time and yeah I am going to see a lot of these calls in my career.<br />
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I've been told that I need to not take my work home with me, and I am getting a stronger stomach in taking these calls but having people tell me that I will get to a point where they won't affect me at all. In all honesty I'm hoping I never reach that point. I have to learn to not let these calls take a hold of my life and strangle it and I need to learn to accept that call for what it is and move in but it won't. That call, my first bad call, will forever be with me. I hope to learn to let it not affect me so deeply but to not let it affect me at all in my opinion causes us to lose the very thing that made us want to lose sleep in the first place, to see people at their worst and help them. Without that empathy, without that sense of what those people are feeling and a longing to make that go away we become complacent. We lose our urge to do our best and we lose a chance to make a difference.<br />
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I end on the fact that I will probably continue to lose sleep thanks to my career choice and what I have/will see. I am learning how to handle these calls. Most importantly I am learning how to be empathetic without letting these calls eat me from the inside. It will take time, it will take struggle, but in the end, that's what makes it worth it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-41723298436801266392010-10-15T06:06:00.000-06:002010-10-15T06:06:37.754-06:00Facing Your Fears... Or Those Things That Make You Question Your SanityHello everyone. Here it is, another blog post. I know, I know, it has been a bit since my past post. Well I have been busy. Cranking out three tests a week, volunteering at more than one place and work just seems to fill up my entire life. So here we go.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3lbyUZ9ENtLW1L-8Vsoj6EdvGx_nBKp9UG-iH3v48BRhyZn-BYicPB7npQ0UoYbBDFRNdQLAhhnrJB0MnRsdRZRigUcWLJ41-xExIu838kD6AUg23bKxLuvq8wEFe6yq27o5PAj-Cic/s1600/2010-09-24_10-14-54_59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3lbyUZ9ENtLW1L-8Vsoj6EdvGx_nBKp9UG-iH3v48BRhyZn-BYicPB7npQ0UoYbBDFRNdQLAhhnrJB0MnRsdRZRigUcWLJ41-xExIu838kD6AUg23bKxLuvq8wEFe6yq27o5PAj-Cic/s200/2010-09-24_10-14-54_59.jpg" width="200" /></a>For our Rescue class I believe I mentioned the fact that I was going to be going repelling off of a 200ft cliff face. Well I did and it was a hoot. Moving on. Ha not really here we are. We go up to an area called Blue Cloud which for those of you who don't know where that is, it is by Baxendale Fire Department on the way to Missoula. The road was bumpy and it took some off-roading to get to, plus a half mile hike up the mountain and there you are. We had a stokes basket with 300lbs worth of gear to carry up too. Needless to say we got a workout before we even hit the actual cliff face. Once we got up there two facts were quite evident. One, the view was amazing, two, the view was amazing because we were really high up. The second fact playing a lot into what I am about to write.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXgz5gb2Lix59JkwbZL3BEpMG9FWU6qZ18nTwklxmeC3EF2XgWQkvZdoAsw_V333gzLHthqilDdcyml9t5HPHBuW7rhFYDzQLr2_VR3iVscruqiwxQ6f4y8h3-J1jYdTFgDW4zrdQBp24/s1600/2010-09-24_10-52-52_352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXgz5gb2Lix59JkwbZL3BEpMG9FWU6qZ18nTwklxmeC3EF2XgWQkvZdoAsw_V333gzLHthqilDdcyml9t5HPHBuW7rhFYDzQLr2_VR3iVscruqiwxQ6f4y8h3-J1jYdTFgDW4zrdQBp24/s200/2010-09-24_10-52-52_352.jpg" width="200" /></a>We set up all our stuff and got it ready so that we could repel down the cliff face. Anchoring to a tree, getting our helmets and harnesses on, and strapping in. So we went one at a time and I spent most of the day taking pictures for the programs Fire and Rescue Facebook page. I was second to go over the cliff face. So I get strapped in and after triple checking my harness and rope I start making towards the point of no return. I get there. Staring down I see our belay guy staring up at me. Two thoughts are going through my mind, man are we high up, and this really gorgeous view isn't going to mean anything if this rope snaps. Words of encouragement are shouted, prayers to the powers that be are muttered and look out below. I was scared out of my mind but I proceeded cautiously. You know that feeling of panic you get when you're doing something that causes the voice in the back of your head to shout "WHAT THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN SMOKING!?", the same feeling you get when you look at that first downward path of a rollercoaster? Well yeah that feeling was very much present. I very cautiously started leaning myself back until my legs were perpendicular to the rock face. The only thing between me and a very fast approaching ground being the grip of my left hand on the rope. I found that as I inched further down the feeling of dread went away and as I got more comfortable The repel came quicker and more comfortable. Once I hit the ground and shouted "Belay off!" I looked up. The wall had been conquered. My sanity had been questioned. My heart was still racing.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsdBmY2G4Nyx64UPg2hIqAyOjije3UZYlU8EhZ-5nTq2v7vvra92VvixuXD_EEvJv7QiDW6Mb376Mub49fDSlvaYnNYDUB32zGnjDoiPGjLh-HJch0-vS7BB7DV1y3E0_WLtIzCav0iI/s1600/2010-09-24_10-53-28_942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsdBmY2G4Nyx64UPg2hIqAyOjije3UZYlU8EhZ-5nTq2v7vvra92VvixuXD_EEvJv7QiDW6Mb376Mub49fDSlvaYnNYDUB32zGnjDoiPGjLh-HJch0-vS7BB7DV1y3E0_WLtIzCav0iI/s200/2010-09-24_10-53-28_942.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
We spent a few more hours repelling and getting over our immediate fears of height. As the day progressed so did the wind and we decided to call it a day.<br />
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<b><u>Unrelated Notes</u></b><br />
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On an unrelated note or two, my sweetie passed her first responder practicals. All she has left between her and her license is the National Registry test but as we all know she will pass with flying colors. We volunteered at the Boulder Rodeo and there were no injuries short of the minor breaks and usual dislocations.<br />
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Other than that, that's about it. So stay tuned. I'd make a mention of promises to update this more frequently but who knows when. So stay tuned. There will be updates. Sometime in the near future.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-41145856907861973132010-10-11T21:00:00.002-06:002010-10-11T21:00:21.293-06:00Coming Soon to a Blog Near You!Stay tuned for a new blog post tomorrow, complete with pictures!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-21704272269636436262010-09-17T10:18:00.000-06:002010-09-17T10:18:07.513-06:00School Part OneWell hello everyone, it sure has been a while since I've updated this blog. I haven't forgotten nor have I abandoned it. School has been ridiculously busy. I've had a bunch of tests already and we are only a month into school. Here is a break down of each class.<br />
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Math - The first two months will be review, starting from 4th grade math to basic algebra. The math is so simple it's hard. What I mean by this is that I do it so much in my head that actually taking the time to write out the step by step arithmetic I make simple mistakes.<br />
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Rescue - This class is probably the most fun class I've had. Right now we are learning how to do low angle rescue with 3:1 pulley systems and repelling. We use these to go down hills lower than 30 degrees. We will be learning high angle but that will be coming later. We are tomorrow (09-18-2010) going out and doing live scenarios so expect a post about that with pictures.<br />
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Fire Inspection - So far a lot of book reading in this class with lectures. We are going to actually go out today and do mock fire inspections. I'll write more on that later, but we are going over the basics of fire inspection with an advanced class down the road.<br />
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Building Construction - We are learning various building techniques and construction methods used to build all sorts of occupancies. The basis of this class is to teach us what to look for in the new light weight construction that can kill us firefighters.<br />
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Fire Suppression & Detection Systems - We learn about different types of alarms for fires and the systems used to extinguish them. A lot of book learning to this class.<br />
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FIRE & EMS<br />
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We have had a few calls since I've written last. One was a structure fire with a CO count in the 600+ parts per million. As defined by OSHA, anything about 500 ppm, is something we shouldn't be in. In 2 minutes or so you die. Paper and yarn on a 100w bulb was the culprit of this fire.<br />
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We have had a few rollovers but everyone was fine and walked away. That is a good thing but still no chance to get my last two patient sticks for my IV endorsement. However I did just recently get hired on by Boulder Ambulance so I will probably have my endorsements here shortly.<br />
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Other than that, I'm spending my time working and going to school. Trying to get ahead in all of it. My sweetie has her interview to get into PA school so I'm wishing her a whole lot of luck. Stay tuned!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-34287881972654622422010-09-02T11:32:00.000-06:002010-09-02T11:32:06.363-06:00The Way I Look at LifeBusy with school, and work, I will write on that here this next week, when I have time, but I was going through some old emails and what not and stumbled onto something I wrote a long time ago that kind of is the way I few life. It was written after my twin sister's passing and was inspired by that tragedy. Happy reading.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"They say how one deals with hardship is a definition of this person's character, I say that there is only so much character that any one human being should have to exhibit. When they don't realize their potential, they are deemed as a waste of time, discarded, thrown away like any common piece of trash. There are some that embrace this idea, and then there are some that take this idea and use it to fuel every movement, every action and every thought to rise above it and walk in their own path. Some lose the daily battle that is life, others will find a way to coexist with it, passing by without even a trace and there are those who will make an impact so monumental that it shapes lives. This impact is seldom derived by a single exploding moment but rather through a series of simple actions in the way one lives their life. There within holds the idea that even a small impact could possibly change the way another person views this existence called life, and wouldn't that be better than impacting no one at all? I think this, to change the outlook of even one person based on our actions, our ideas, or even ourselves, is just an opportunity too hard to just pass up..." </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">~ Anonymous</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-56761608737503163662010-07-26T21:00:00.000-06:002010-07-26T21:00:29.369-06:00IV's and SeattleAlrighty everyone well I was hoping to keep this updated more but I am having a hard time finding the time to update this blog, but don't worry I will keep it going. You know how summer is. As I have said in earlier posts Summer has finally started and as it is really short, it's hard trying to get everything we want to do this summer done in a few short months. Anyway it has been a busy few weeks in the Fire/EMS world ending with a wedding in Seattle. So let us jump right into it.<br />
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<b><u>EMT-B Endorsements</u></b><br />
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So this week I finally got the boss' okay to start my endorsements. So rather than just being an EMT-B that can assist patients with their medications I can actually give medications, place IV's and open airways etc. Well I have my monitoring endorsement already. I can place a 4-lead, monitor heart beats, check blood glucose and so on. These past few weeks I decided that I was going to just work on the cognitive parts of these endorsements myself. So I decided I was going to do the IV/IO initiation (starting) and IV/IO maintenance (monitoring) endorsements. Well the Paramedic/Instructor saw me working on these endorsements and decided to take it upon himself to teach me.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9XDC3kMnpZnyQbYrMRcbJB-rBGPLjZw_NOHwyLTYK_sl6pXTQwh_1Bk9CRm4jtr9cfLHAAmmtmnA-OfR1REcd9aKeeXH_vSro_Br6MSvl-EISa-aa_lP5Lbz8mGdPMzEaZGpOmEV__Y/s1600/IV1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9XDC3kMnpZnyQbYrMRcbJB-rBGPLjZw_NOHwyLTYK_sl6pXTQwh_1Bk9CRm4jtr9cfLHAAmmtmnA-OfR1REcd9aKeeXH_vSro_Br6MSvl-EISa-aa_lP5Lbz8mGdPMzEaZGpOmEV__Y/s200/IV1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>So after I got down the cognitive stuff it was time to do the psycho-motor stuff. My buddy from fire class and EMT coworker Dave decided that he was going to be my first IV poke. We were both nervous as hell but the paramedic was watching. Well the first one I totally missed the vein. Not so sucky for me, but a lot more sucky for Dave. Well the second one I nailed as you can see by the pictures. The first one is my IV technique and then my second one is the IV fully finished. After that I went 7 for 8. So that felt pretty good.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfw6Tm49sLQfGCHWhyphenhyphenTy0MkfMbujLA1oGSeCbxABAHyaqvcCiwfE6sYMVgy6BaM745bYyMkNIoQGzClHVwXPdmyh50YFfPawdxer64F6dmihl3QBu2hhPg7_sglTz6zO1oIQI0gsymVG0/s1600/IV2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfw6Tm49sLQfGCHWhyphenhyphenTy0MkfMbujLA1oGSeCbxABAHyaqvcCiwfE6sYMVgy6BaM745bYyMkNIoQGzClHVwXPdmyh50YFfPawdxer64F6dmihl3QBu2hhPg7_sglTz6zO1oIQI0gsymVG0/s200/IV2.jpg" width="200" /></a>By the end of the day I was exhausted with IVs and I had fire training. We went over structure triage and went out and triaged a persons house that was out in the middle of a lot of trees. Beetle kill and all.<br />
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For those of you who don't know when I refer to the beetle kill, our winters haven't been cold enough in the past ten years to keep the pine beetle from entering Montana. These beetles burrow into the trees and lay eggs. The next spring the eggs hatch and the larva burrow and feed inward towards the core. Not only does this cause damage to the trees but when the beetles burrow in a deadly tree fungus is brought in, causing the trees to die. I don't know the science behind it but that is what I've heard.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq2Ya1YUFnli0_5zEkvFKWQafbr25GvAq44JL7x119DhaekPK9nA1_x5lqK8FFYN1vp3ZzvpzW3c_TPhv5bTQ3UDuEy_LGhCxwVHxohUJWHc20uUMvucUnAtn7E7S-0l-ztQzKOGuRf-w/s1600/shattered.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq2Ya1YUFnli0_5zEkvFKWQafbr25GvAq44JL7x119DhaekPK9nA1_x5lqK8FFYN1vp3ZzvpzW3c_TPhv5bTQ3UDuEy_LGhCxwVHxohUJWHc20uUMvucUnAtn7E7S-0l-ztQzKOGuRf-w/s200/shattered.jpg" width="200" /></a>Anyway after that it was time to head to Seattle for a wedding. The wedding was beautiful and original. The bride and groom had everyone let go balloons at the end of the wedding. It was awesome. Dinner was delicious and the band was epic. When I say epic I mean they were amazing . They went from singing 60's hits, to rapping eminem and lady gaga to Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer to end the wedding. Ending on a natural high of good food, good music and good people we all went to my car to find the picture you see here.<br />
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Apparently a lady decided that she wanted my sweetie's sister in law's purse and had to shatter my window to get it. After a police report, canceled credit cards and so on, we finally taped it up with cardboard and went back to the hotel. We hung out and played games Saturday night then drove home Sunday. All and all it was a good time and meeting my sweetie's family was fun. They all enjoy each other and having fun and it was neat to be around.<br />
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Other than that not much is going on, I hope to get my first patient stick at work tomorrow but we will see. Wish me luck, until next time, stay safe and stay tuned!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-32099386528087219402010-07-05T21:31:00.000-06:002010-07-05T21:31:52.627-06:00KIeffner Ranch, Stupid Kids, and the Fourth of JulyWell this past week has been a very eventful week in the Fire & EMS field. We've had a fire, a big one at that, a kid who stole his grandmother's car and rolled it, and the Fire Department Independence Day BBQ. So without further ado here is my week.<br />
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<b><u>The Kleffner Ranch Fire</u></b><br />
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The Kleffner Ranch is a famous ranch just south of Helena and west of East Helena that was developed in the 1880's and was abandoned in 1893 after The Silver Panic hit and set ruin to the owner. After being vacant for a number of years, Paul Kleffner bought the ranch in 1943 and set to restoring it to it's original beauty. He then sold it in 2005 where it was still being developed into a popular place for weddings, receptions and so on.<br />
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As you can see it pretty much is a big deal place in Helena. Everyone knows of it as a landmark. So let's get into it. It was roughly 00:45 (12:45am) and I was laying awake in bed. I don't know if it was the banging of branches and blinds caused by the breezy gusts of wind outside or just a general being awake but there I was, awake. I had just closed my eyes and had just started to nod off when the familar "beep, beep, beep" of the pager went off. After scrambling to put on my fire clothing. I raced off to Station 2. I made it right as the first truck was leaving and got on Tender 1.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0g9C_-zXSJ8BR9bl5tdIqyu5P9t1jcFbAC6WrU2kyz1PZBZZnAUlxFg8N3cTrt-PJvEj09MBtZZhlbCEyXx295qLWYu9b7fZPMUIZA6TuRn9opHLcKFoD8QPlAB3uvhsxu4AsSbGUd1g/s1600/33396_423593654608_529469608_4194466_4555139_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0g9C_-zXSJ8BR9bl5tdIqyu5P9t1jcFbAC6WrU2kyz1PZBZZnAUlxFg8N3cTrt-PJvEj09MBtZZhlbCEyXx295qLWYu9b7fZPMUIZA6TuRn9opHLcKFoD8QPlAB3uvhsxu4AsSbGUd1g/s200/33396_423593654608_529469608_4194466_4555139_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>We raced like Highway 518 and came around the bend to see an orange glow encompassing most of the area. As we got closer the barn came into sight. An image that will forever be burned into my brain lay before me. Flames shooting out of the roof roughly from what it seemed, about 20 ft high, heavy smoke was showing from all over and flames were jutting out from all the eves. Everyone was scrambling to get their gear on and get all masked up. I was part of the second crew and we ran up with the monitor and started blasting water into the structure. We couldn't get enough water pressure to run the 3inch going into the monitor, while balancing 120psi in the 1 3/4 inch pre-connect. After some juggling and finding a stable water source we were in business. We changed bottles three times before we were sent to rehab. Which we were supposed to rehab 10 minutes at least for every bottle of air we were on. I never ran out of air, usually getting down to about 50%.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2BqIW1IHE66MVtgm2MEA-ZOUuQgHyPOPvp2i5_TL7CU3dRvPnPDaGwg9Env8h9gIE25XBNnXRmMqQohn5YuQHRzM-rW02poGlBM40E3nIQAgg142AO0ZsObeiwDTYPBOOgsD9rW343W4/s1600/26690_134637109894993_100000461141850_268063_2646587_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2BqIW1IHE66MVtgm2MEA-ZOUuQgHyPOPvp2i5_TL7CU3dRvPnPDaGwg9Env8h9gIE25XBNnXRmMqQohn5YuQHRzM-rW02poGlBM40E3nIQAgg142AO0ZsObeiwDTYPBOOgsD9rW343W4/s200/26690_134637109894993_100000461141850_268063_2646587_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>Finally after being ordered to go to the ambulance and get checked out, get placed on O2 and relaxing a bit, I got bored and jumped back into the thick of it. This picture to the left is of me shooting water into the building to knock out some visible fire. After we did what we could we realized we just weren't going to get the fire from the angle we were out, so we called in an excavator and the City of Helena's Aerial Ladder Truck. The next picture is one I took of the Aerial and Excavator with the sun coming up. With this combo we made short work of the fire. Most of us rested and pounded down some BK sandwiches and crappy coffee. But at 5am after fighting fire for four straight hours, coffee is coffee.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf9ONYkGGCNsijJmLLO3NJCNdeTzjw90RGRHBy4wDXnB4vrIMBV5ebfkhg8OL5RBFMCwqdJ4JviRz7pUvmfBBsfUCY_Ki9qY_HGP-GPPeQ4ZJVtGTwRK6SE1Fxxt95LiCEBvdmaB8XG4/s1600/DSC01057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf9ONYkGGCNsijJmLLO3NJCNdeTzjw90RGRHBy4wDXnB4vrIMBV5ebfkhg8OL5RBFMCwqdJ4JviRz7pUvmfBBsfUCY_Ki9qY_HGP-GPPeQ4ZJVtGTwRK6SE1Fxxt95LiCEBvdmaB8XG4/s200/DSC01057.JPG" width="200" /></a>At 07:25 after an hour of mop up and attempted salvage, and cleaning up/breaking down the hoses, we were clear of the scene. After almost 7hrs my first structure fire was knocked down. Here is an after shot of the building and a link to the<a href="http://helenair.com/news/article_f873d820-84d5-11df-82af-001cc4c03286.html"> Helena IR News Article</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQeN_1hiXiDQA7NcZYZyK4Hk6oIr3EppTC-A7lWIBNogm6vVSJPIA0vUze0CCoR-ruu3uba1HImRha240Z-QnP6rUY47-uMQwQqlC2lmhINw_2gUMMPUv2aPs_JcgkZsVp3xYFQyFnrk/s1600/36210_134637559894948_100000461141850_268091_5975445_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQeN_1hiXiDQA7NcZYZyK4Hk6oIr3EppTC-A7lWIBNogm6vVSJPIA0vUze0CCoR-ruu3uba1HImRha240Z-QnP6rUY47-uMQwQqlC2lmhINw_2gUMMPUv2aPs_JcgkZsVp3xYFQyFnrk/s200/36210_134637559894948_100000461141850_268091_5975445_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><u>EMS</u></b><br />
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Later that morning I had to work, so I was at that point going on 32 hours roughly of being awake. I ended up having to drive from Helena to Great Falls then over to Kalispell and back down. Here is a shot of some angry clouds on the way back. After the fire and getting back from work at about 22:30 (10:30pm) and being up four about 42 straight hours I managed to get some sleep.<br />
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Friday night I worked with Mike the Medic and we had a pretty quiet night until about 01:20hrs or so. A kid (15yrs old) decided that he needed to steal his grandmother's car and drive it to California to help a friend. Around the Seiben area was when the Highway Patrol started chasing him, and it wasn't until Boulder Pass that he hit the guard rail going 110mph. When we got there he was cuffed as he had a standoff with police. He was laying on the ground in cuffs with a sheriff's deputy holding c-spine. We boarded him and got him to the hospital. From what we could see he only had seat-belt bruises. Luckily.<br />
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<b><u>Independence Day</u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzK5esjMKkeA_1qQEoW88LFlvdFeegH2R_zWrVhoJRjylZNkXnmhDfL5ZkJSKYK4zClt7n3W2YrDF52QmMP5BV6DYJNXFwFpgR-caIqKQpEk6HCsqZC840NwD2HJ9J9nwdzR5tJoKRPQ/s1600/34150_578097271709_43800388_33855699_7188455_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzK5esjMKkeA_1qQEoW88LFlvdFeegH2R_zWrVhoJRjylZNkXnmhDfL5ZkJSKYK4zClt7n3W2YrDF52QmMP5BV6DYJNXFwFpgR-caIqKQpEk6HCsqZC840NwD2HJ9J9nwdzR5tJoKRPQ/s200/34150_578097271709_43800388_33855699_7188455_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>The fourth of July was done in a typical fashion. BBQ's, Fireworks, beer, etc. The fire department had its annual BBQ. We had really good food. We sat around a fire as it was cold. Yeah, like 40's in the evening. Folks shot clay pigeons. Then we busted out the fireworks. As you can see by the picture.<br />
But that is about it. My first really big structure fire. Stupid kids thinking they are invincible, and good food amongst fun people. Can't ask for anything more I guess. Stay tuned as the fire season looks to get into full swing!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-15734383060195688102010-06-13T15:00:00.001-06:002010-06-13T15:01:11.268-06:00The Para-God Complex: A Return to the BasicsI have been a nationally registered EMT-Basic for a year and a half now and a licensed and practicing EMT since January. Needless to say I am not the most experienced EMT in the world but I am learning a lot. Over the past six months I have worked with a number of ALS and ACLS providers, ranging from a fully endorsed basic to a paramedic. Each one has given me a different perspective. Also in my six months working for Eagle I have run into many other health care providers in the various hospitals I've seen. Now a lot of the providers are awesome, care about the patients enough to listen to a patient report and there are those that feel inconvenienced by patients. This ranges from EMS providers to doctors.<br />
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To be fair I have worked with my fair share of folk from both of these categories. I've seen good EMTs and medics who care more in making the patient the most comfortable they can be. I've also seen those EMTs who just want to get the patient dropped off and get back to the barn. I've run into Medics who are nothing but friendly and are willing to take the time to teach us basics various tricks of the trade and I've seen some that don't even give you the time of day. It's the latter I will be focusing on for the rest of this post. Here's an example:<br />
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One night my partner and I were coming in from a 911 to a nursing home. The patient was in no means critical but in distress nonetheless. We called a patient report in to a very annoyed nurse. Apparently calls at 0300hrs just do not make anyone's morning. We get to the hospital, get the patient moved over to the hospital bed and while my partner is giving his report as he was the one who did patient care, I went to remake the cot and clean up the rig. Well I got all the sheets together saw one of the hospital paramedics walking towards me. I asked him if he would help me lift the cot as it was lowered and he just ignored me and walked by. Now he may not have heard me but ask anyone that knows me, they will tell you I am not a quiet guy and he was two feet away from me when the question was asked. I asked my partner what his deal was as my partner also works as a medic for the hospital and he explained that this particular medic felt that cot making was beneath him. He finished by telling me that this medic was a prime example of the Para-god complex: a feeling of being above people because he knows how to push drugs, knows more advanced life saving techniques and can generally do a lot more than basics can. This would not be my first run-in with this complex. Other examples include being dumped with stable patients that the hospital medics don't want to transport. <br />
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Now I understand that with all this knowledge paramedics have a lot more responsibilities with trying to save a patient and that this can go to one's head. Especially if they were to have a streak of saves in the back of an ambulance. However as one of my fire instructors taught me, they can push all the drugs they want but if they don't start with the basics, the stuff an EMT-B is fluent in, no amount of drugs pushed will help a patient. The basics include opening the airway, checking and remedying patient breathing problems, and finally checking for adequate circulation. Without these there is no point in pushing drugs on a patient. The point is, that even with all the medical training in the world at your disposal not forgetting the basics is paramount for a patient's survival.<br />
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This does not mean that I won't be going for my paramedic certification. I plan on going for it as soon as I am done with fire school. What it does mean is that feeling that certain calls, or certain duties are beneath you causes not only a disservice to your patient base but also causes you to be complacent in patient care. This complacency will cause anyone to forget the basics needed to be done in every call. Maybe not all the time, but some of the time, which is many times too many in my opinion. Remembering that we all once started out as basics, unless someone skipped that step and went straight to medic school, and remembering we were all at the bottom of the totem pole will create more humble health care providers who don't mind teaching those below us the tricks of the trade. This in turn creates a chain reaction that will snowball lower and lower creating EMS providers who are focused on the most important part of patient care. The well-being and betterment of their patient.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-31932897920615204752010-06-13T13:22:00.002-06:002010-06-13T22:03:16.389-06:00Blog Spring Cleaning, Long Trips, Fire Muster!Howdy all! Well as you can see there have been some changes made to Smoke Before Fire. What can I say other than that I was really bored with the look that Smoke Before Fire had. Then I discovered the new Template Designer by Google and as you can see, my blog got hot! Literally! Then my title image Just didn't fit the template and the sizing was off, so a new title image! So yeah, blog spring cleaning has come and I like the results. I mean I don't see it much because I don't read the blog myself, because honestly who reads their own blog? But I hope you all like it.<br />
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<b><u>EMS</u></b><br />
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So work hasn't been too exciting. Thursday I spent 14 hours of my 21 hour shift in an ambulance. I got very familiar with Eagle VII that day. Here's how it went down. I get to work at 1000hrs and am told we have to leave at 1030 for a patient pick up in Butte. We get to Butte to find out that the patient's appointment at the FHVA is the following day. So we went to Butte for no reason. Well we make it back to Montana City and were getting off the interstate when our boss calls us to tell us that we have a patient transfer to Missoula for St. Peters. So we get there, drop the patient off and come back. On the way back we get a call from the VA saying we need to bring a patient to St. Peters from the VA. It was a behavioral patient so I had to do patient care with him as well. Well after we drop the patient off and get back to the shop, my partner Mike gets a call from the VA and we need to go up to Missoula again for another patient. So after maybe sitting and relaxing for 10 minutes we are on the road again. We get the patient and come back and get back to the shop at 12:30am.<br />
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Luckily we didn't have any calls that night, and I got to sleep for a few hours before I got up early to call my <a href="http://mj-travel.blogspot.com/">sweetie</a> who is Stateside bound this Wednesday! Pretty stoked. But afterwards I went home and passed out for another four hours. That next night we didn't have any calls so I was going to go to bed early but our favorite sheriff's deputy came to visit us. So we talked with him for a bit. Again after getting to bed around midnight I woke up early. I didn't get to go back to bed when I got home because I had to get ready for Fire Muster.<br />
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<b><u>Fire Muster</u></b><br />
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So every year a town about five miles west of Montana City by the name of Clancy holds a series of events known as Clancy Days. Basically it's a weekend of cook outs, flea markets, music, and fun. The Clancy Volunteer Fire Department uses this weekend to host it's Firefighter Competition known as Fire Muster. Basically you have teams of four doing three events.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QSZ4zHHCSiymE3qVx9eivhAY6LKsLR_6ldSae2b2lGQyXPO457VH_hGGpK3FpM13Rwcc-tOOXRyBG7IPrcMuwWyABRJ4bGTuXxaGNerLAWODVwur58I3QCWjzIUZA_NzTfasexeRl2A/s1600/23352_1456354976605_1465277386_31178789_6461847_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QSZ4zHHCSiymE3qVx9eivhAY6LKsLR_6ldSae2b2lGQyXPO457VH_hGGpK3FpM13Rwcc-tOOXRyBG7IPrcMuwWyABRJ4bGTuXxaGNerLAWODVwur58I3QCWjzIUZA_NzTfasexeRl2A/s200/23352_1456354976605_1465277386_31178789_6461847_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>The Fire hose relay is the first event where you have a hydrant, three lengths of hose and a nozzle. We start behind the hydrant, run to our respected areas of the hose and couple them together. Afterwards we raise our hands and the hydrant guy lets the water flow. We shoot one target, shut the water off, then couple a different nozzle and a different hose length and shoot the second target. The team with the fastest time wins. We had the second fastest time, because the first Clancy team cheated and didn't use gloves. Well they got a second time to go and got a faster time. None of the other teams got a second round. Our time was 53 seconds which wasn't bad. We would have had faster but our first guy didn't tighten the coupling tight enough and it burst. It soaked him and that was hilarious.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlm8R5aqGe9jq2JUkrq6BAhb894b67WmHoNmkwmvwouK2E-mbVWb2U7lmgBttqk_hMQyUW5synbZiuraU2YWUtkNyHKtOEMFjwDjrP7LB95L9stjHmNPDwxW32zgVEYYWM7KV0xFJbiqQ/s1600/23352_1456344656347_1465277386_31178774_7292575_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlm8R5aqGe9jq2JUkrq6BAhb894b67WmHoNmkwmvwouK2E-mbVWb2U7lmgBttqk_hMQyUW5synbZiuraU2YWUtkNyHKtOEMFjwDjrP7LB95L9stjHmNPDwxW32zgVEYYWM7KV0xFJbiqQ/s200/23352_1456344656347_1465277386_31178774_7292575_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>The second event was the Fold-A-Tank bucket relay. We had four buckets that we had to use to take water from the fold-a-tank and fill up a oil drum. The first person with the steady stream flowing out won. Well it was a good competition because Jefferson City and Montana City tied. But they gave it to Jefferson City because they were operating with three people instead of four.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEAIK6D4YLRXGZwQ6BAvAIdohsQxAV6AioJ8Pq-5jCRB49KJPqwgH2nYfJHj_VHVPQDRV8gIUWGdpil6Dyx0C-Of6zcpjnq3OnGKkn7UZoCYPJ26oiybZb7k7XEv3luZjocS75yGUvqA/s1600/23352_1456344696348_1465277386_31178775_2965051_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEAIK6D4YLRXGZwQ6BAvAIdohsQxAV6AioJ8Pq-5jCRB49KJPqwgH2nYfJHj_VHVPQDRV8gIUWGdpil6Dyx0C-Of6zcpjnq3OnGKkn7UZoCYPJ26oiybZb7k7XEv3luZjocS75yGUvqA/s200/23352_1456344696348_1465277386_31178775_2965051_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>The final event was the keg chase. No, we don't have to race against frat boys in hopes of being the first to get a hold of a beer keg. Basically it was a tug-o-war with fire hoses. We have an empty keg strung up on heavy duty cable wire in the air and the point is to use our 1 1/2 inch hose-lines to push the keg towards the other team and cross the line. We were first up against Jefferson City and we had a back and forth but we were able to push it past them. Both Clancy teams faced each other and the winner of that faced us. It was Clancy two. We were deadlocked in the middle for a while before our nozzle-man accidentally turned our nozzle off and we couldn't recover. But again we got second place.<br />
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By the end of the competition, our gear was drenched, we were freezing, because we were flowing water from a run-off filled creek, and we were the runners up. We did not receive any trophy but we did show the other departments that we were pretty skilled in what we did. Even when Clancy teams cheated some. So yeah, look out Clancy, next year Montana City is going to smoke you guys!<br />
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<b><u>The Smoke Alarm</u></b><br />
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We had one call the other night around midnight. It was a smoke alarm going off. Turns out that the gentleman not being able to handle the beeping ripped out his smoke alarm, exposing live wires (another fire hazard) and leaving it at that. Well even after ripping out the alarm the beeping was still going off. After some exploring it was discovered that the alarm was the gentlemans UPS computer back-up system's low power warning. Yeah, a little ridiculous.<br />
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But that is about it, I hope to write more soon, but it's going to be a busy next few weeks, what with my sweetie returning home and us going to my buddy's wedding. So stay tuned!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8608157421653279976.post-53126032293749621282010-06-02T16:21:00.002-06:002010-06-02T16:24:22.359-06:00Rain, Rain Here to Stay... Or So it Seems!So as the title states it's been rainy in Montana. Not a constant rain but the kind of rain that goes away long enough to make you think you can go outside and do things and will sneakily comeback moments later; The kind of rain that cakes your vehicle in mud; The kind of rain that turns into snow then back into rain at a moment's notice. So yes, it is officially spring in Montana. But as we enter into June we will be arriving very shortly into Summer. Montana is the kind of state where the seasons spring and fall do not stay long. You get used to it, enjoying the changing of colors that happen so rapidly. The dismal and constant white, changes to green and beautiful. Then to the brown of summer, with a rapid orange of fall back to the dismal constant white. But yeah it's raining.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0Iu_6ISWy4gW-zRj8esStsAGF98q3vAH2RNAVBRgE08ISEX6ztr3gkCVnY_KUrPWAhQuGuCJTu7Sextxj2XjQUC_3WRqkPThqYRwswH26tjbJ9gczIIIkDElE7ZZP4_-6We6C5kDKRQ/s1600/2010-05-24+12.23.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0Iu_6ISWy4gW-zRj8esStsAGF98q3vAH2RNAVBRgE08ISEX6ztr3gkCVnY_KUrPWAhQuGuCJTu7Sextxj2XjQUC_3WRqkPThqYRwswH26tjbJ9gczIIIkDElE7ZZP4_-6We6C5kDKRQ/s200/2010-05-24+12.23.09.jpg" width="200" /></a>It's been an interesting few weeks since I've last posted. I left off before with telling you that I had a fireman's funeral to attend. I won't go into detail, but I will say it was beautiful. They had an honor guard. We were to wear our uniforms, we saluted as the decease passed. The coolest part was the mile and a half parade of ambulances, fire trucks, cop cars, from all of the state coming to pay their respects for a fallen firefighter. These two pictures I have posted show just a fraction of the fire trucks that were in tow. I was in Engine two from MCVFD and we were the second fire truck in line. The most amazing part was the brotherhood of firemen that came to honor this firefighter they didn't even know. We did a military farewell at the Fort Harrison here in Helena and that was it. Afterwards we went up to our station one and had food and just spent time with everyone that knew the firefighter. Laughs were had, tears were shed but overall people just came together to honor one of our fallen. The weather was just a constant day of rain, which seemed fitting.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnYKxw8R5Pf31D5_PpFbpxRiqtyGgH-S6dQ2O1xFpyaCCNQoJGiIrFtDN6mUJqyURUxNrTuFqo-J7Ff2gIE3VwXPMHxXwH9CYHZ3-fDDw60sf6_vqwuz12k5uAPinT342LVJND_kYrLQ/s1600/2010-05-24+12.24.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnYKxw8R5Pf31D5_PpFbpxRiqtyGgH-S6dQ2O1xFpyaCCNQoJGiIrFtDN6mUJqyURUxNrTuFqo-J7Ff2gIE3VwXPMHxXwH9CYHZ3-fDDw60sf6_vqwuz12k5uAPinT342LVJND_kYrLQ/s200/2010-05-24+12.24.14.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
That evening I had stopped by my ambulance shop to pick up some stuff I left at work in my haste to go home and get ready for the funeral that morning. Well good thing that I was there because we had a page go out for a MVA (motor vehicle accident) with three patients, one ejected. I wasn't going to go with Eagle but the Fire Department got paged too so I went as a firefighter but did my EMT gig. We get there and the ejected patient was out. Not only out of the car, but unresponsive. So the ALS folk went to deal with her and they put me in charge of the other two patients that were seat belted in. Basically here is what went down. Both patients c-collared, backboarded, placed on O2. Once one of the ALS crew was done with the ejected patient they came in and did their IV thing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgId_EW5-MCFIyKKoD64fBohVLGChZShunM3CSsst2Jkd1rFTVmsRYSkD9PG8teB-qSlJ_wcQjkO3vJc5fUDpTbYPIHzTaDDj-ogpaQrjJQqtIkznyZdDpxfV6npS2EpL9y1FqPCF68Z-A/s1600/2010-05-24+18.34.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgId_EW5-MCFIyKKoD64fBohVLGChZShunM3CSsst2Jkd1rFTVmsRYSkD9PG8teB-qSlJ_wcQjkO3vJc5fUDpTbYPIHzTaDDj-ogpaQrjJQqtIkznyZdDpxfV6npS2EpL9y1FqPCF68Z-A/s200/2010-05-24+18.34.36.jpg" width="200" /></a>The patients were stoned and hit a 35mph corner going 85mph. They were going so fast they cleared the 5ft high fence ten feet away from the road. Needless to say, they got distance. After we patched them up, got them to the hospital and dropped them off it was time to go home and relax. Well after we got the ambulance put back together. As you can see from the pictures... It was a disaster and these were taken after cleaning up the IV stuff. The rains I mentioned earlier, caused the roads to be muddy, wet and disgusting. But oh well. It can't be sunshiny and awesome all the time.<br />
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Speaking of doing IV stuff, sometime this month I will be starting the classes for the rest of my endorsements. Which I am pretty excited for. Out of all the people hired in February from our class (5) I'm the only one so far they have felt has stepped up to the plate and proven that they are ready to learn the endorsements. Not to toot my own horn, but it was definitely a yay me moment. So when I get those started I will write here on everything I'm doing.<br />
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That's about it in terms of EMS/Fire happenings. I'm working as much as I can preparing for my sweetie to come back from Japan and for us to go on our trip south to Bozeman for a wedding. I will be posting here more on a few things I've noticed in the EMS field. So stay tuned!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018262228318684620noreply@blogger.com0