KMAC

dust, whoever said anything about a 2nd? i only carry 1...you might want to go edit that, because god forbid you make a mistake i would suggest you save your god-like life saving finger's strength and stop replying to my posts, cause i dont give a damn about what you have to say to me. I thought i made that very clear in my last post that you seemed to completely ignore...well..all the parts pertaining to you at least..which i kind of figured you would. and brentoli, yeah my grammar sucks...but anyway, i didnt have a key on the reg. because, well, i didnt have a key on the reg...it happens...deal with it. I didnt have a half box of gloves on my belt..didnt think i would have to explain that one :roll: had duty gloves because that guy on the other side of the fence was in a batch of poison ivy, and 90% of these people were gang members and most of them im sure had a weapon of some sort on them whether it was a knife, a straight blade, a heroine needle, and i wasnt gonna bother taking chances when i did a rapid trauma assesment, so i put on the leather/kevlar gloves then the exam gloves on over top..dont care what you think about that because thats what i did, if the duty gloves got ruined or soiled or anything they went in the garbage, it happens. Used the pocket guide for the coma scale (not 100 well versed on it, but it is part of our MCI protocol).

sorry just to adress the wallet thing real quick, i carry it because i feel lost without it. You know how if you wear a watch everyday then 1 day you forget it and keep looking at your wrist and realize its not there, yeah same way. i never leave the house without wallet, keys, sunglasses and watch.

last night, i had a full blown MCI. A volunteer firehouse near the ewing/trenton boarder has a big reception hall. Im not sure what type of event was there, but there were 300 something people in it. Around 2230 or so i overheard someone screaming on TAC 2 (ewing fire ops channel) for PD to the firehouse, i heard nothing but a giant uproar of people in the background. 2 minutes later we (ewing EMS) got dispatched to the firehouse along with 3 other BLS units for a riot. PD from ewing, trenton, state police, county sheriffs, hopewell police, as well and the mercer county gang task force all responded as well. Well we were first on scene, we staged in an adjacent parking lot. My other BLS units arrived shortly after, then we saw a line of 30 or so police cars from trenton and the gang unit flying up the road. A short while later we were cleared to the scene. I assumed EMS command and we began the triage. 24 BLS, 2 ALS (not to bad) my trucks were staged on the apron (about 150-200 yards from where I and the scene was, due to limited space to menouver vehicles) we had everything imaginable out of the trucks because we had no idea what we were dealing with. now the parking lot stretched about 300 yards further, and basicly the lot, the building, the street and another adjacent parking lot had pt's. I am damn happy i had my duty belt. period. I used everything i had (and i mean everything) flashlight, shears, mulittool (YES...multitool, i had an o2 cyliner that wasnt in a jump bag and it didnt have a key attached to it because i took the reg. off an empty bottle, also, without a key on it...GO FIGURE) about a half box of gloves, my pocket guide, my duty gloves...get the picture? I also stuffed my pockets with a bunch of 4x4s, a roll of 4" tape (to stick vitals and other info on pt's) a few rolls of 2" gauze and i think thats it...before i left the ambulance so i didnt have to haul the jump bag around with me, i grabbed the "02 sleeve" with nothing but a jumbo D tank, basic airway supplies and a few other choice items in it. anyway everyone got triaged and transported, ended up transporting 16 BLS and 2 ALS. Ill say it again, thankfully i had everything i had on my person because the last thing i would have wanted to do was find out i didnt have something and jump over a fence and jog alll the way back to the truck and the command post (i transferred command to the TC before anyone starts the "you were command you should have stayed in 1 spot" lecture) to get something i needed..like..i dunno..an 02 key or a flashlight..because we thought the scene was contained to the reception hall untill police started finding people everywhere else. So...i personally am thankful i didnt walk into that scene with a penlight in my pocket and my super 300lb. jump bag with everything else including a ring cutter in it like some other people carry. didnt want to be running around with a 300 lb. weight attached to my shoulder.

My kind huh...wow, way to be a part of a team there bro. i thought i had respect for you, see i was being nice and just said that you do things your way and i do things mine, not that anyone is wrong about it, and i just wanted to try to stop this whole..whatever the hell it is, then you decided to be a shallow narrow-minded dick about it..because, you know, "my kind" arent welcome "down there" wherever the hell that is...even though most of the busiest and most respected fire and ems departments in the country are located up this way..but hey..im not an "employer down here" so apparently they know something i dont...but hey, if you "down there" boys want to think that way, go right ahead, i hear you like seperating "your kind" of people from other people anyway :roll: good job, i think you just set a new record for the shortest time it takes for me to completely loose all respect for someone... :angry2: :sad3: Furthermore, apparently you are from new york because..well..what makes you think anyone gives a rats ass about what you think or do? :shock: NY, i got your back, i guess its a "your kind" northeastern thing to look out for eachother..

Ok im officially done with this thread. You do things your way, I do things my way. You dont like it, then dont come to the northeast. Period. :roll:

Open a hotel or casino , or maybe a resturaunt or 2...

^^Well said^^

Im not sure if your record will be an issue for the state. However, you may have a hard time getting a job once you get your cert. , especially with the driving record and driving ambulance. The best thing to do is ask, call the state EMS department and ask what the policy on criminal backgrounds are. Good luck, its a unique field. KM

Ok i usually agree with your views, but i must protest a few in this case. I also work for a very urban EMS setting. I to wear a belt with a holster similar to a trauma pro with my radio, ACLS guide book, bandage shears (not to be confused with trauma shears) o2 wrench and a pen or 2. then my glove pouch, then a pair of leather gloves, and a flashlight. the trauma shears are on the small of my back. Anyway, fixing lightbars, fleet repairs take days, not hours, and the reserve trucks are death traps, i would rather replace a lightbulb or unstick a motor, or replace a lens (we have spares of all of them at the house) then take it to the shop have it sit there in the pool for a few days before they get to fixing it and work in a deathtrap in the mean time. Window punch: it hasent happened to me, but it has happened in my community of EMS where EMS has arrived on scene to find an MVA w/ injuries and fire in the engine compartment. Door is T-boned on one side and against a guard rail on the other. how do you get the victim out before the flames spread through the firewall? common, no, possible? yes. i would really rather not wait for the FD to get dispatched, get going, have me talking on a different radio to try to guide them in while i have a screaming pt. with fire inches from them..sorry, i would rather carry the 8oz tool...keys: just work keys alone, truck key, cabinet keys, o2 cage key, door keys for 5 different stations that i can be pulled to sit at, locker key get the idea? 02 wrench...like everyone says, they walk. deal with it. carry one. (i also use my multitool, it works to) cellphone: to call the tour chief, the hospitals, people on the other trucks, these are nessesary people i have to contact and the radio isnt to be used for things of that nature. medical control...cell phone...yeah. just because you dont see a need for it in your enviornment doenst mean there isnt a need for it in someone else's . also a few posts back i saw someone say if there isnt a direct LOS to the truck the monitor goes in..that is the case here as well, along with the drugs.

I think there are more angles that have to be viewed. Many, many many departments run fire/ems together. In cases like that, departments obviously have a standard uniform as firefighters/emts/medics whatever all do the same job. Of course thats not saying that when the ambulance crew gets goin they cant throw on a set of coveralls. I work in the city, and my uniform looks very very close to a PD uniform (navy button down, silver badge, silver name plate) especially in the dark. i have people calling me officer all the time, day and night. Honestly i dont think that a certain color would do much good, as ive seen different people with different people across the country, wearing anything from red to green or orange on ambulances, same with fire and PD.

listen bro. ill be honest. it is mighty hard to get a job right out of EMT school. unless you went to school through a hospital that has an EMS service, or something like that, honestly you can forget about getting a "strett 911" job. around here 99% of those jobs require at least a year of transport experience, if not more. Ive been in this for a few years, in a few states, which hurt me up here. I started in transport up here, and 4 years later im still in it, but now im getting job offers left and right for street, ive been doing street for 3 at 2 different, busy companies, but now im going a bunch more places. give it time, get your pt. care skills down, get your vital skills down, and network. network like your life depends on it, find people who have experience, find people who know the system in the area, and for the love of god, know your place, it sounds bad but its true. the worst thing a new emt can do it act like he knows everything, act like he knows everyone and act like he is king S**t. find the balance between being active and sitting back and learning, but, act in a manner that will stick in people's heads, so when the time does come, they will remmember how you acted in a certain situation and when they see your name on the app, it will do nothing but help. its alot to do, its a pain in the ass to be a new EMT in an area...but work through all the politics and all the BS and you will be happy you did in the long run.... Sorry for the long post...but its the truth

thanks alot guys...its really good to know i have people somewhere..it really is Edit: Just a small update...im starting the painfull process of talking to people and getting paperwork together for the medic degree. Ive chosen valencia community college see here for many reasons. i have a few friends who go/went there and it is in a great location. the program looks well thought out and organized as well. it will run me a little over 6Gs but that really isnt to bad. also im getting ready for the first phases of getting registered for the fire academy again (fireacademy.org) so i can get my fire certs down there. that is gonna be another 4gs -ish . im getting this started now with the academy because, as i said, i was in the academy once, and i got started real late on the app. process and barely (and i mean barely) got in, it took 6 trips down there from NJ in 4 months, had to cram alot into a real small amount of time. plus, if several people rank the same based on physical agility test scores and acedemic scores, app. date is the tie breaker. im applying 2 years early....at least. so i think ill be good in that department. ill be taking night classes this time, so it will be around 9 months worth of school for my fire certs...3 nights a week plus sunday day isnt too bad, i did days before and it was the worst thing in the world, im not a day person plus traffic was horrific. anyway, there is my small update, nothing spectacular, but its a start

Ok, for the 2nd half of the post, this is more focused on florida (sorry i forgot to put this in) I lived in orlando for a year, attended half of central florida fire academy's course, then had to leave florida for family reasons. yeah, CFFA is a pain in the ass to get into, believe me, i did it from new jersey. And like i said, I am planning on getting my medic before i start looking for fire jobs (however i understand the OCFRD hired only FIRE/medic/EMTs . I could be wrong, maybe someone can show me different? Anyway my plan was move (again) school, R/M as a job (i already am talking with the EMS director down there) and take it from there. i have a few really good friends down there, one goes to university of central florida, she is going to try to hook me up with student housing...so that will help. See the money problem falls to a simple common denominator, we get paied crap here. one job i get paied 12/hr, the other 14/hr-ish. Thank you all for your posts and support. its good to know i have friends somewhere to turn to. i almost had my job once, im not letting it get away a 2nd time. i know what it takes to move to and live in orlando, its a pain, but if i did it once when i was 18, i can do it now. its all just a waiting game..plus im not planning on going down for another year...

my first loss, we packed up, headed back to the station and i went back to sleep. honestly i didnt effect me in any adverse way. My medics said i worked the code better than alot of vet. emts. who knows. it was her time, i guess. cant argue with that

So ive been doing fire/ems for 3.5 years. Started working full time 3 weeks after i graduated high school. I like EMS, but I love firefighting. I am in NJ, and I know it is inevitable that eventually major department will be fire/ems combined. Ive been a full time EMT and a volunteer firefighter so far, finding a paying fire position is almost impossible around here. I also have lots of bills, living in NJ is very expensive. Cant find a place for rent for under 1K/month before utilities. Anyway, next week i am working 64 hours. That is a pretty average number of payed hours im on an ambulance a week in various departments. I am still a volunteer firefighter. It has always been my dream to be a fire/medic in orlando, not sure why, but it just has been. Ive looked into it, and I am actively persuing it. However, i have no social life to speak of, im still barely able to pay the bills. The people suck in the area, everyone has something to say about everything you do, even if you never met them. Everyone talks to everyone else, if someone trips getting out of the ambulance in 20 minutes well over 100 people will know, and i mean WILL know. The EMS system sucks, as most people are aware of in NJ. I work for several companies, but the "big ones", plain and simple you have to know alot of people. no matter how qualified you are, you will not get into a few without knowing people, and thats just the way it is. Everyone knows eachother, 80% of the paramedics look down to basics, but half of the medics also work on BLS trucks for extra money. Im just running out of steam. Cardiac arrest?..eh...we will get there, honestly i dont really care what the outcome is...but i will do my job to the best of my ability. MVA? great i have to dodge cars with drivers that have no care nor concern for us, the MVA or just other people in general. im just blank. im always pissed off at people, with no real reason honestly. i dont really talk to anyone outside of work from work...with the exception of a few people, and i mean a few. Im never at my fire department because im always at work, or sleeping..i work night shifts and sleep alot during the day. I dont get out of bed for the pager 90% of the time, firecalls dont even "excite" me anymore. My now ex girlfriend could never understand anything about why i felt the way i, well, do..why i acted the way i did, and that is a whole other chapter...i know the solution is work less, but with the bills, that is practicly impossible. I keep thinking maybe its time for a career change, but then i realize this is all ive ever wanted to do, all im interested in doing, and all i know how to do. Im taking pre-reqs for my associates in paramed. I dunno, maybe in just tired of this state, this area, these people...maybe once i get back to orlando things will be better...

yes, that is a perfect world. However in many cases, say in a stabbing, the last thing i, or the PD wants to do is start routing through their pockets, mouth, ect. for stuff if the guy is gutted in the middle of the road. i mean yeah, they will look for obvious things. Also, cases such as diabetics, seizures, ect. in which the pt. comes "out" of their state of mind and is confused, ect. they can go off like a time bomb. it happened to me about a month ago, a guy was passed out in his car at a stop light, me and the medic woke him up and he flipped out on us because he had no idea what was going on.

Trenton, New Jersey

i can see where you are coming from. however i have a high volume of gang members (bloods) IV drug users and just plain stupid people with everything from exacto knives to straight razors to god knows what else on their person. hell, ive even had people try to bite my hands...

When i have psyc. pt's i like to wear a pair of gloves with a kevlar lining or something of some such. Ive had a few different pairs, mostly galls neoprene with kevlar. but im looking for something better. does anyone else use something similar?

Is it? I never really noticed, I always thought they ran just blue...and lots of it.

^ Good idea ^

Ok. Generally speaking, with all our apperatus at my various departments, when the vehicle is put in part all the clear it turned off (or when the vehicle's warning lights are put into 2ndary mode) Just as a little extra point, Aside from wig-wags we do not have any clear at eye level (IE not in the grill, windshield, ect)

I know NFPA states NO amber to the front. Are you specing to NFPA standards? That standard can be found as NFPA 1901-32

Ok so ive been doing this whole EMS thing for a while now. I feel I have a strong base of knowledge in the field. I teach many many people as it is, the chief likes to put new people with me constantly. So I figure, if I do it so much, why not do it more? The question is, how do I become an instructor in the state of new jersy?

Has anyone been to the CONTOMS website recently? It is kind of...non-existant at the moment. Is there a new one that I dont know about? Can someone post the correct link, maybe I have an old one :roll: