Shift Happens!

Well it's the final day's of summer and I'm riding them out at work. I love the fire and ems service a lot, but sometimes it stinks like SHIFT! For all the rewards of shift work there are some trade offs. Like paying back shift trades, time away from family functions, and generally missing out on some things. The pro's out way the con's but sometimes dealing with the con's STINK! So, just put your head down and get through it! Aaron Tippen said it best "A long hard Day sure Ain't Much Fun, but ya gotta get it started if you're gona get it done!" Happy labor day weekend everyone. Take the time to grab your love one's and tell them how much you love them because before you know it......SHIFT HAPPENS! Be safe and keep ridin with "View's from the Jumpseat!

Move right with lights?

Once again I would like to thank everyone for the support of my article on firehouse.com. On a safety note a KCEAA ambulance was involved in a minor accident yesterday. The detail's are still coming in but from what I can figure out it was passing a SUV on a two lane road when the SUV swerved left into it's path. First, I hope everyone is OK. Second, I would like to take the time and remind everyone to expect the unexpected. Sometimes people do the craziest things when they see us coming with our parade lamps on.(IE.... Light's and Siren's). Maybe we should put a sign across the hood of the ambulance or Engine " Move RIGHT for LIGHTS!" Thanks once again for sharing some time with me here at "Views from the Jumpseat".

Photo by Dave MacQueen, WSAZ

Thanks to Peter Mathews and Firehouse.com

Just stopped to send a BIG SHOUT OUT to Peter Mathews and Firehouse.com for publishing my first article. It's the full version of "When to Back the Truck Up?" I hope everyone enjoys it and starts a safety discussion with your companies. What if we all would make safety our number one priority? I believe that we owe it to our families to" Back The Truck Up!" Have a great day everyone and thank you for visiting "Views From the Jumpseat!"

Back Where I Came From!

Last night I had the pleasure of teaching at the place where I began my fire and EMS career. I started the night with a basic CPR class and turned it into a round table discussion on firefighter safety. We talked about seatbelt safety, proper PPE selection and use, and basic mayday procedures. It was an engaging conversation between firefighters and their views were right on the money. It was nice to share my "Views From the Jumpseat"!

There is a Monster in the Ambulance!

Stop the box, there is a monster back here! The Charleston Fire Department had the chance to demo a new “Power Cot” from Monster Medic yesterday. The salesman brought it in and gave a wonderful presentation on its feature’s. Cots or stretchers have evolved from the days of face to face lifting to a battery operated self lifting stretcher. Man what a concept, so what would ever make someone think that this is not a good idea? Let's do the math on this thing! How many times in a shift to you lift the cot up and down? Let’s see at least twice per run times six to ten runs a shift. That is twelve to twenty times you are lifting and loading a patient into your ambulance. That would be a good workout for anyone. Imagine that now you are going from twelve to two. Does this mean we have become lazy? Absolutely not! I think that we have let technology catch up with us. Sure this thing weighs more, sure it costs more, sure it…..well that’s about it. I would trade an extra 20-30 pounds of not lifting any day!

During the demo I heard every excuse in the book about power cots. They are too heavy, we will get complacent while lifting, or the best one of all it will catch more blood and nasty’s. Well ok, we may have to clean and maintain it more but man not having to lift these four, five or six hundred pound patients is a blessing in itself. Ems is a tough business filled with obese, overweight, and not fit providers. We need to look at this new invention and remind ourselves to put the cheeseburgers down and prepare for the next run. It all starts with some personal responsibilities. Diet, exercise, and training are great starting points in preparing for EMS. But all that we do personally will now be assisted by a big ORANGE MONSTER. Monster Medic thank you for your demo and hopefully you will be serving Charleston WV citizens very soon!