It's 3am and your pager is toning you out for a car accident.You jump to your feet and get your gear then head out of the door with one thing on your mind,helping those we my be hurt or in need of you services.Your a EMT and you know that it's up to you and the control center to get the people in the car and others that my be hurt the medical care they need. Or your a fireman and it's up to you and the rest of your team to ensure that the scene is safe and there are no chances of fire.The EMS(Emergency Medical Services) personal all over the world learn how to work together with other departments to ensure your safe from fire,emergency medical needs, and police needs.We work 42/7 365 days a year and will respond and do our best to make sure your protected and you get the care you need fast and in a professional manner.A lot of people don't understand just what it take to get you an ambulance when you get into a car accident, your house catches on fire, or you need a policeman to help you.That's why I wrote this book to help those people understand just what we as EMS personal go through to provide this service. First off as a member of the EMS family you need to be able to respond to anything and keep yourself calm about it, if you not calm then how you you expect others to be.Second you need to able to recall on your training and others training around you to ensure that the patient gets the best and most professional care they can in a fast manner.Third you need to be able to work with others such as firefighters,paramedics,police officers, and other EMS personal on scene.Now that you know that you need to know how to relay information to your control center(911)in order for them to be able to get you the things and personal needed to get the accident cleaned up and the people that are hurt to the hospital.EMS personal are well trained and able to react face to emergency situations fast and professionally.You need to be able to respond anytime day or night.I've be called out at all hours of the night and to just about any and everything you could thank of.Over the years I worked as a fireman,EMT,Paramedic, and Forestry. I'm currently in medical school to be come a doctor but haven't forgot where I got my start from. There have been many times that I have been coming home from school or going to and stop to help on a accident,house fire,or forest fire. I would never turn away from a person in need!I was taught that EMS in a family and once your in you never come out. I trust in that and thank that is the way all EMS personal should feel about their jobs. The ones that just do it because it's a 9 to 5 job should be fired and once I graduate from med school I plan to open a ambulance company and would never have someone that feels that way working with me. This is not just another job it's a calling and takes a special person to do it and do it right.Thank about this would you leave you family on Christmas to respond to a house fire or a forest fire knowing that you my never return or my be gone for days at a time.If you answered yes to the question and seeing blood doesn't bother you then you have what it takes to become a member on the EMS Family. I love to see new people interested in the EMS field but most don't know or understand the learning and education involved with it.As a member of the EMS family you will never stop learning and taking classes but don't thank of it as "Oh God this is just another class" thank of it as "This is something that I need to know to help save someone's life." Taking the classes don't bother me at all because I know that what ever the teacher of instructor has to say if to help me save someone's life or to help me stay safe and both of those are vital to ensure that I provide the care and protection needed to work in the line of work.I've been on well over a hundred calls and still they fell like the first one.I feel that I was chosen to do this type of work because I love the look one someone's face when I save them or when I run out of a burning house holding their child in my arms and they know that if it wasn't for me they wouldn't have made it out alive. I don't expect to get a "thank you" for everyone because the look on their face is well enough for me.In order for us to get to you quickly and help you need to know how to tell the 911 operator the things they need to hear in a calm and steady voice.When you help you call 911 and tell them what is going on,what type of care you need,where you live,and the phone number you can be reached at. The only time you don't give them a phone is when your house is on fire because you NEVER want to stay in the house if it's burning.Also when you have a medical emergency or need a police officer we need you phone number because if we can't find you then we are going to let control know so that they can call you and get better directions to where you live.We need you address because a lot of the time the personal working at the 911 center can pull up all of your information right there on the computer and send it to us. Keep in mind we respond as fast as you do meaning if you are steady and tell the 911 center what they need to know then we will be called out and get on our way fast.The faster you get the information to the 911 center the faster they can let us know what's going on. If your house is on fire then you need to GET OUT as fast as you can and stay low to the floor.Once you get out then you need to find a phone and call 911 to let them know. If you should get caught in the fire them you need to cover yourself and say low to the floor but if you hear someone yelling "fire department" or "Is anyone in here" don't run or try to hide from us we are there to help you and if you run then that will lower both of our chances of getting out.If we know that someone is in the house we WILL NOT leave until we find you or get hurt our self and another team will be coming in just as soon as we get out. I have had fellow firemen and women that have died trying to find and child or adult in a fire.It's sad but that's what he look forward to every fire we run into. Everyone of us know that but we keep that thought in the back of our minds and thank out getting you out and safe.Now that you know and understand that let me tell you the medical side of all this.When you get into a car accident you need to remain in the car unless you can see the car on fire.We ask you to do this because you could have hurt your back or neck and moving could result in more damage than you know. You can injure you back or neck with out knowing it or feeling any pain.When we come on scene we know how to remove you from a vehicle with out causing you pain to further injury.Also we know how to tell if the vehicle is still safe for you to be in while we cut the car to get you out the fastest and safest way but if the car isn't then we know how to deal with that too. We know everything we need to help you in your time of need.Every fireman knows CPR,First Aid and most of them are EMTs or paramedics.If you see a car accident happen or you drive upon one you need to get that person help right then and there. Not by jumping out of your vehicle and trying to pulling them out.Studies show that a lot more people get hurt by being pulled from a car than they would have been if they would have stayed in. What you need to do is call 911 and tell them where the accident is at or if you don't know them tell them what is close to it like a store or if it's on the interstate that closest mile maker to it. Now that you know the basics on what we have to know let me go a little more in depth about the everyday life of a EMS personal.It's 9am and your getting ready for you first day as a fireman. The first thing you need to do unless you Superior tells you different is make sure that you station is clean and the trucks are stocked and ready to go.Most fire departments have a workout room where you can go and keep you body in shape.That's very important to stay in shape because the gear you wear and the hoses are not light and you my be in your gear a long time and have to carry the fire hose and a person a long way to get them out of harms way.I worked out about 2 hours per day when I was on duty and still do today.If you keep your body in shape then you will be ready for whatever the job throws at you.The next thing you need to do is talk to the shift that is leaving find out what went on the shift be for and if anything needs to be done by you and the rest of your crew.You need to get to know your crew and what they are like.Last you need to know your job inside and out, know everything you can about how to preform your duty and what it take to do it right.As a firefighter rather paid or volunteer your duties are the same that when responding to a call the risks,lives,and importance are just the same. Now let me tell you a few things I go through as the Ass Commander of Forestry for me county.First I'm a professional Representative for my division and for me crew.Meaning I go to the meetings and relay the information to my men. I'm the one the makes sure everyone if safe and have the tools needed to get the job done the quickest way we can.Also I'm the one that signs you pay checks and makes sure all the paperwork is done and turned into on time.Now as for the fighting of fire, to fight a forest fire is much different from fighting a house or building fire, we don't have hoses or nearly as much protection as they do and a lot of the time our fires are bigger and spreed out over a larger scale.As it my be we don't normally deal with someone caught in the fire but we do deal with the wildlife and tree loss that comes with any forest fire.I've heard people say that they wouldn't worry about these types of fires and just to let them burn but what they don't understand is if we would to do we would all die.The trees are what allow us to breath and the wildlife are what provide many of us food.Thank about how it would look it we would let all the forest fire in California per say burn.How much forest would be lost and the homes that are close to them.There are 2 ways we can fight a forest fire most of the time and that is with a back burn or fire line.What a back burns does is make the fire burn in on itself thus putting out the fire. A Fire line is where we clear a large area right down to the dirt in front of the fire to make it go out. There is one major problem with using a fire line if it jumps it them your in big trouble and most of the crew only have a few minutes my be even seconds to react to save their lives. There are a few tools to help people in that situation the tool is called a fire cover or blanket.Everyone of us carry one on our sides and when we need it we pull it over us to help us not to burn alive.A fire line is the best way to stop a forest fire in it's tracks.When we can not handle a fire on our own we can call in air support.when we do this they send in special helicopters that have water buckets and they drop thousands of gallons of water on the fire.This is another great way to help us put out the fire.When we get the fire out we are also trained to survey the damage and to take steps to insure that this will not happen again.Also we are trained to know how to detect signs that a forest fire is going on or if one my be starting.That is the basics of what the EMS Personal go through everyday.We are happy to do it and will always be here in you time of need.I love my job and my family that's why I'm going to become a doctor.I would like to start an online training class to help people with fire prevention,safety,and for those that are interested in it the things that it take to become part of the most important family.If you would like to help and have any firefighting or medical training feel free to contacts me at ffhicks@firerescue1.com. Just title the email"help".This is my story I will be writing a lot more to go along with this one in the near future.
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"When duty calls we will be at the ready"