EmtFF99

Volunteers will always be a major threat to the paid sector of both Fire & Ems. [/font:261c6ca282]

Our Dept is strictly 100% volunteer. Our Members head to the Firehall when either an Ems or Fire Call is dispatched.

Days off for me consist of the weekends. I work a split 2nd M-F, so the weekends is when everything around here gets done (If my wife didnt do it first), mainly work on my truck & work with our newest pup for SAR.

I drive a 85 Ford Ranger (2WD) with a 2.8 V6 & 5 Speed, which however is down again within this past year, we have dumped some serious money & time into the truck 3x. This time around is the last for it. The Lightbar is legal in the Commonwealth of Pa under the Vehicle Lighting Code, however the coe states "1 single rotator for roof lights" which some consider a fullbar to be a "single" however others state differently. The State Police have no problems with it though. My wife drives the 85 Lincoln Town Car, which is seriously a gas guzzler. (I hate this car with a major passion!)

For Fire/Ems calls, my dept uses their respective radios. However during a SAR & Fire Dept Sponsored events we will switch to using the FRS Radios. It is mainly because our Dept cannot afford to equip all members with a FD/Ems Radio. We have had no problems using the FRS Radios simply because we are mainly in a rural area.

What is your name? Look below in my sig tag

When is your birthday? May 17th

Eye color? Brown

Hair color? Brown/Grey

What nationality(s) are you? 100% Saurkraut

Any piercings? no

Any tatoos? no

You have three wishes, what are they? to see & spend time w/my kids

What sound can you not stand? Nails going across a chalkboard

Special talents? no

What is the first thing you do when you wake up? find the coffee pot

What is the last song you sang? I dont sing

Do you play any instruments? no

Do you know any random facts?

BE HONEST- Do you listen to show tunes? no

Do you want to go to college? I want to go back & finish

Whats the first thing you do when you get home from work? Let the dogs out

Is there anyone you are desperate to meet? again my kids (It has been 10 years)

Do you dance around your house when nobodys home? I dont dance

Favorite quote? I have 2 "Make time, take time to spend with your kids, Dont Ever lie to them, You may not be here tomorrow to speak with them" and "Only a Fool laughs before knowing all facts presented to him"

Main source of exercise? work or chasing my dogs around the yard

Yay or Nay

Diet Pepsi? nope, dont like aything diet

Kids? yes, my son is 17 & my daughter is 16

Bread? White or Wheat

Hair cuts? Either I cut it myself or my youngest sister does

Hiking? when I have time

Black and white photography? yes

Coffee? Tim Hortons!!!!!!! & Maxwell House

What C.D.s are in your sterio right now? Godsmack's Faceless

Guilty pleasures? The Internet

If you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? My wife's Pot Roast

Speak other languages? German & a little bit of Russian

Favorite song (as of right now)? Godsmack's Serenity

Favorite flower? Marigold

Contacts, glasses, or neither? Glasses

Hometown? Northwestern Pa

Favorite Drink? Highway Suicide (if its alcohol) & Turner's Iced tea (its a Pittsburgh thing)

Have you ever been in love? (depending on what your concept of love is) I am with my wife

Have you ever been skinny dipping? no

Assertive or passive? depends

Sing in the shower? again I dont sing

Any regrets? Yes, that I may have not fought the Family Courts System hard enough to help change things for all kids including my 2 own.[/font:ee0c58340a]

Do you swear? Umm, yes

Do you have any pet peeves? Yes,,but way too many to list here

Favourite Ice cream flavor? Butter Pecan

Member of the red light club? not even asking what this means.

Quite a bit of the public also still refers Firefighters as "Firemen" even though there are Women Firefighters within the FDs. It is just a generalized term used, nothing meant as an insult.

In Pa, if you have any type of Child &/or Eldery Abuse Hx you cannot get a job within the Health Field except as a FR, Emt or Medic. There a few Emts that I know of whom work for Private Services & Ems Services that have a past Child Abuse Hx,1 was fired from a Long Term Health Care Facility for abuse of their Residents (19 Counts) & has 8 counts of Past Child Abuse (Of her own kids) but yet works in the Private Ambulance Sector as a Emt. It something of this sort that bothers me to no end, to know that Pa does not & will not do a Child/Eldery Abuse Hx & a Criminal Background on Ems Personnel, whether they are paid or volunteer. Another classic example, A Volunteer Emt/FF whom spent 13 months in a County Jail for Possession of Drugs, Theft, Possession of Stolen Property & STILL holds his Emt Certs this very day! Now is the type of person you want walking into your home? The Emt whom has 19 counts of Eldery Abuse (All confirmed) & 8 counts of Child Abuse (Also all confirmed) working on you, your childern or a family member?

Now don't these same people deal with the Eldery & Childern -vs- the other jobs within the Health Field? Scary thought to say the least. There is a group of us, whom are going to petition the Commonwelath of Pa & the PaDOH about doing Criminal, Child/Eldery Abuse background Checks after the 1st of the New Year. We managed this a few years back & both the Commonwealth & the PaDOH started to do background checks on FR, & Emt Students, just in the SW Pa area (1999) there were 109 Perspective FR, Emt Students that were bounced out of classes for this, but the Commonwealth & the PaDOH went lax after 2001 & have not checked as extensive as what was done in the past.

Stress? Stress? I have no stress!! LOL,, While I am @ work & stressed out (From the idiot 1st shifters), I take it out on poor Truck Driver whom comes in to pick up a loaded trailer,,by parking it within 1" of the next trailer on the left side, then dropping it until it hits the frame of their tractor (when they are backing in to it). If i am not @ work & stressed out, I grab my big red gear bag & find a decent bridge or cliff & go rappelling for a few hours. (Lake Erie has some really nice overhang cliffs). While I am "hanging around" on the ropes, I am able to clear my mind of any problems @ hand.

Very true! Teens do have (or most) the "It can never happen to me" type attitude & the next thing is they find themselves wrapped around a tree or telephone pole.

but teens get into accidents because they blatantly disregard the rules. They have the 'it can never happen to me' mentality. (I know, I lost 4 friends in 2 years in high school...)

Bottom line, we can't single out the elderly in a discussion of bad drivers. We all know, from experience as well as our jobs, that people of all ages can be hazardous on the road...

"They" would be the from the ages of 16-21, and from 65-? But again at the same time, you have quite a few responsible teen drivers & elderly drivers (never had an accident nor involved) that would fall under this catagory. Now speaking somewhat of the same coin for "ALL" Drivers, the "Zero Tolerence" Effect for DUIs should be 0.00 across the board. Cellphones (Some States are in the process of banning Teen Drivers from using them while driving) should be banned across the board for all drivers too. Plain & Simple, if it is going to be done for 1 group,,might as well include EVERYONE in it.

Who is "they"? Where do you draw the line between "them" and "us?" And what objective criteria do you use to come up with that standard? Does your criteria have a scientifically valid basis, or is it arbitrary, and therefore ripe for appeal?

It ain't cut and dried.

They should be able to, "Only" after completing a Yearly Written, Driving Test along with a Yearly Eye exam.

Rid: In Pa, the ONLY time a Employer is reuqired to run them is if the person is applying for jobs such as: CNA, RN, Med. Sec, Child Care, Teacher & so forth. As for Ems Employers (Lizard Transport Services) they are not & most likely do not run a background check such as Child Abuse, Elderly Abuse Hx. Most will run a Criminal Background, but that's about the extent. However, if you are applying for the City of Pgh as a Medic, then (What is called Act 33/34 here in Pa) is completed on the Canidate.

There are Emts & Medics that work for other Services & volly for services that cannot pass a Child/Elderly Abuse Hx Report for the life of them. Would you want Joe Blow Medic transporting your grandmother from the nursing home to the hospital or (-vs-) with a past Hx of Elderly Abuse? I know I would not.

The way I feel is if you are required to pass the Clearances for other medical jobs, then you should ALSO be able to pass it as a Medic, Emt or FR whether in a Paid or Volly Service.

I believe mos tservices are required to perform one before emplyment. Butm the state does not routine run one for licensure.

Be safe,

Ridryder 911

What States require their FRs & Emts to go thru & pass a State Clearance for Child Abuse History, Criminal History & Elderly Abuse History before allowing them to either work or volunteer in the Ems Field?

(IE: In the Commonwealth of Pa, if you apply for almost any job within the medical Field (Transcript Sec, RN, CNA, Aide & so forth) except for the FRs, & Emts. You are not required to obtain & maintain these clearances at all.

https://epatch.state.pa.us/RecordCheckEntry.jsp?action=new Pa PATCH