Arctickat

if 400 (to use your exagerated number)

How did I exaggerate? 400 is a perfectly reasonable number using the scientific method of extrapolation. The population of Canada is 35 million, the population of the Unites States what? 350 million? The United States has roughly 10 times the population that Canada does. Using the method of extrapolation I come up with ten times the number for suicide. 340. The other 60 are for the people who have actually had to work with you and deal with you on a personal level.

I don't know why I bother trying to reason with assholes like you. Letting myself be dragged into bullshit like this is one reason I left this site. Apparently I haven't learned to deal with that yet.

It's not an epidemic, if only 34 died in a year, Sorry !

You realise that's 34 in Canada alone, right? That would equate to about 400 in the United States. Do you give a shit yet? Maybe you will when it's someone you care about, if anyone fits that criteria.

The fact that you are in such a state of denial is worrisome. It's people like you, those who cannot recognise the problem who are the ones that are dying. I have grave concerns for your mental health my friend.

You're missing the point Mikey, it's not the number of suicides, it's the number per 100,000. In Canada the national average in 2009 was 11.8 per 100,000 people. The suicide rate for first responders is more than double the national average. Why is there such a discrepancy? The only real difference from the national average is the carreer.

34 people might have died in bicycle accidents, but how many million rode a bike there are far more bicycle riders out there than there are first responders? In that case, the numbers just aren't as significant and you're comparing apples to oranges.

As an aside, the hyperlink you mentioned is an automatically placed ad that is used as a source of revenue for the website. Only free members can see it, so none of us here knew what you were talking about. The automatic advertising robot fella takes key words and links them to what it thinks is subject matter in the discussion. In this case, (I am making the assumption) the word blow up took you to a site regarding dolls.

It wasn't intentional.

That story is incorrect. They are misrepresenting "First Responders" as paramedics. The true number is 34 First Responders. This includes Police, Fire, Corrections, CBSA, and others as well.

But hey, if it puts a spotlight on the small percentage that were paramedics, I'll take it,

The Apollo fire anniversary was yesterday.....Jan 27, 1967. I hadn't realised that until I looked it up.

So, I managed to read my way through that, and from what I can tell, you would like to find a cheap accelerated EMT-B program somewhere in Alabama but haven't had any luck so far even though you asked the head of the State EMS office and a regional school.

Is that the gist of it?

Although I am Canadian and cannot help you regarding education in Alabama, I can suggest you search for some of the many threads on here that address this topic. You may find something more helpful than I, but you may also learn what most of us understand about the quickie cheap EMS programs.

Just found this from CBC news.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-first-responders-mourn-sudden-death-of-paramedic-1.2934170

I hope he's at peace now.

We could save loads if they did away with board and collars.

We already did.

http://www.collegeofparamedics.sk.ca/cme/spinalmanagement.php

I'm trying not to read anything into it, but I find it strange that the article includes a link to another article relating to the suicide of 4 first responders this month.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1794444/edmonton-paramedics-mourn-tragic-loss-of-one-of-their-own/

The small seat on the driver side is commonly referred to as the CPR seat, the seat at the head of the cot is also called the Airway Seat, and the long bench like seating area on the passenger side of the vehicle is commonly called the bench seat, or squad bench.

Here is a picture of a bench seat and an airway seat from the demers website

http://www.demers-ambulances.com/assets/pictures/features/MXP170_1_5551_New_curbside_window_thumb.jpg

Here is a picture of the track seating offered by Demers;

http://www.demers-ambulances.com/assets/pictures/features/160S_7a_Mobility_track_chair.gif

AMR tukwila unite!

I was in my regular unit (merc sprinter) doing a day trip over the pass and another crew in a diesel ford doing a similar trip caught us up, we decided to give it the beans, and holy hell that Ford walked away.

So, you're saying that during a non-emergent patient transport you ended up in a drag race with another ambulance? Some sort of pissing contest? And we wonder why people are losing respect for our profession. Note the example above.

Back to the topic. I just bought a new Dodge pickup with the 6.7l diesel and hooked onto my 31ft camper. Even with that weight on the bumper, the acceleration was better than my ambulances. That said, It's too much low end power for an ambulance, however, in the hands of a responsible driver, I don't believe it would be an issue. I've moved on from the Hino idea and am seriously considering the Dodge chassis for my remounts.

Indeed...It's been a rough couple of years.

I wonder what happened to the OP? Maybe his partner killed him.

Why the steel toe? I used to think that was an issue, however, over the years, I've come to realise that there really isn't that much hazard in my profession to warrant steel/ceramic toed boots. As for the zipper, you can get zipper inserts that lace into your boots as well. If the insert craps out on you, just go buy a new one rather than replace the boot. Here's an example of what one looks like. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/BOOT-ZIPPER-INSERTS-/141551407552?pt=US_Unisex_Accessories&hash=item20f51f11c0

There can't be a set number in regard to the weight of the patient. There are medics in my service who would have difficulty lifting a 200 pound patient while others would have no problem at all. What every medic needs to do is determine his or her own limits and work with that. Hell, once I injured myself doing a cradle lift of a little old lady who weighed 85 pounds to get her out of her room and onto the cot. One wrong twist of the back as I was placing her on the cot and blammo.

Sigh, screw it. If no one wants to play by the rules I'll go play in another sandbox. C'ya!!

There have been many times over my career that I've had to secure a weapon of some sort or another. The police can take upwards of 45 minutes to reach the scene if they aren't busy elsewhere, and I need to make sure that the risks to me and my partner are under my control, not that of someone else. In fact, there have been attempted suicide cases in which the only person there was the victim. We have him ready to go to the hospital, but what do we do with the weapon? No police presence, no responsible person to trust. Would you just leave it there for when the police show up 30 minutes from now, or would you document it and take it with you to hand over when you meet the police later?

If you do the responsible thing and secure the weapon...we return to the OP, what would be the correct way?

Oh, and don't claim that you'll call a supervisor, not all of us live in Long Island.

hmm...this question has the look of a multiple guess question from an exam...so let's take a look from that angle. These are your only four choices and you have to choose one....which would it be? My answer would be "D", Two fingers on the trigger guard. "A" and "B" may ruin fingerprints, and "C" is just plain stupid. My answer would have to be E none of the above. As said before, the police are there for a reason and it's their job to control and secure crime scenes.

So you choose to fail the exam and start your new career as a professional dish washer in a Chinese restaurant? The OP never said anything about the police being there and there is no "E" option. If you don't want to play along in this hypothetical exercise, then don't comment at all.

We all know what the right answer is, but it's not one of our options to choose from.

Sorry, all mine are new...never even took the wrapping off them.

hmm...this question has the look of a multiple guess question from an exam...so let's take a look from that angle.

These are your only four choices and you have to choose one....which would it be?

My answer would be "D", Two fingers on the trigger guard.

"A" and "B" may ruin fingerprints, and "C" is just plain stupid.

Two Words...Rubber Band

I did a review of noise levels in various ambulances at various speeds. Many were over the 85db mark. I'm working with an audiologist to develop a 5 year study on hearing loss for EMS in urban and rural settings.

Well, sticking a pen into the barrel is a good way to lose some fingers....I'd go with Mike's recommendation.