STREMT11

The Dept. I work for issues it's EMS Old-style rubber pull-up boots(Old school Chicago Fire Type) and the long coats. Our helmets are black Cairns with Blue-Leather shields with the Star of Life. I haven't had a problem with the whole setup, but a lot of people complain about it.

When I first started, I carried all kinds of stuff with me, but now I carry 2 pens, Pen light, Rescue Knife, Search Gloves(for the rowdy patients), cell phone, wallet, and truck keys. Everything else is in the truck.

In the city that I work in, The FD and PD have no EMS training at all, so any time a crew is out on something, and anybody is off duty and happens onto a scene, they will stop to help.

My service uses 10-10 for a fight in progress. 10-32 gets used for everything else. If its really hitting the fan, we use 10-32 and throw in an expedite or forthwith. On calls, its just the ambulance crew that respond, so its just us for the 5 or so minutes until PD can get there.

"956, respond to ------- W. 12th St. for a reported stolen garage door." Minutes later, "956, you can 22(disregard), the caller is on the line stating the door is not missing, just in the open position."

It was a typical summer night, with all the domestics and fights going on all over the city. At about 9:30, we get dispatched to a bar downtown for a male who has fallen. We arrive on scene to find the actor lying on the barroom floor, with a good size head lac. People that were in the bar said that the actor on the floor and his best friend got into an argument, after which his best friend shoved him off the bar stool. The actor struck his head on the bar on the way down and was throwing blood everywhere as he argued with us about whether or not he was injured. He said that he didn't want to go to the hospital because someone would steal his bike that he had outside. After we told him were not taking his bike with us, he proceded to take an offensive posture with us, causing my partner and I to "assist" him to the ground. We eventually loaded the actor into the truck and left for the hospital. After getting to the hospital, we get another call for a man down about three blocks from the bar that we were just at. We arrive on scene to find that it was the guy from the bar's best friend. He stole his friends bike and was too drunk to make it home. He got a nice ER bed right next to his buddy.