BlissEMT

Any smoke will usually do the trick, as long as it's smoldering something. There are even chemical smokers, which I would think could harm the bees, or even the handler. Smoke just blocks the bees' alarm pheromones produced by guard bees or injured bees, like the "fight or flight" response for humans. Colony collapse disorder, or honey bee depopulation syndrome is what I think you're referring to... definite bummer. "If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years of life left." is the quote attributed to Albert Einstein, but hasn't been confirmed, that people often bring up when referring to the current phenomenon.

I guess I would consider that, but would think that they would want the platform to angle slightly away from the tracks, to decrease the chance of flooding... apparently my thought was incorrect for Australian railway platforms... Still amazing that two incidents close together would both end up in a positive way, with only minor injuries, and no lasting effects. Thanks for the video, aussiephil!

First, I assume a 'pram' is a stroller/buggy/child transportation device on wheels? Second, um... wow. Note to self, Australian platforms are apparently slippery, or on an incline prone to allowing wheels to roll freely... Also, Australian babies must also be super-human -- How do 2 children that age and size manage to survive being physically struck by a moving train, regardless of the speed?? Maybe it's in the water...

I guess I should repost the subtitle to "Insert bee pun here..." LOL My understanding, from the bee expert that is my boyfriend, is that honeybees are the type of bees that, well, make honey... And also, they only have a one-sting stinger, the stinger stays in their victim, and the bees die shortly after... So, like a love story out of the history book, the honeybee's final act is that of protection to their Queen... How sweet. Except, you know, when that act throws a person into anaphylactic shock. Or disturbs EMS from saving lives... Then it's kind of a pain in the rear.

This one was a little too close to home... Personally having an allergy to insect stings, I'm not sure what would have happened if I had been responding to this incident... Sounds like a worse-than-normal, but still managable trauma call... Until you hear this part: An estimated 700 hives per truck, with around 30,000 bees per hive, there were approximately 17 Million bees on one of the trucks that was involved in the crash. Darren Straus, part owner of the company, Bauer Honey, said they lost about 150 colonies in the accident, which will cost about $45,000... But, Straus is more concerned with the victims of the crash. Well, what about being concerned with the EMS crews and Fire crews that were called for the scene? One of the first on scene was stung by bees A second semi carrying bees for the same company, not involved in the accident, pulled over at the scene to assist... Lt. Eric Roeske (MN State Patrol) said the drivers transporting the bees had some extra suits that the paramedics were able to put on. Otherwise, with thousands of bees swarming, pouring out of the back of a semi, which is carrying millions of bees, EMS tries to reach the crash victims... Firefighters tried to keep the bees calm and at bay, by spraying the trucks with water... Knowing personally something about bees, the heat can make them harder to handle -- and Minnesota set records for high temperature yesterday. Plus, if something happens to the queen, they are known to swarm... so if a queen died, or flew out of the colony, every bee will follow, stinging anything and everyone that gets between them and their queen. So, they see us as a threat, and our duty is to get to the victims... One victim was dead on the scene, and another required helicopter transport, but later died. As the Responder, what do you do?? News Articles: http://wcco.com/local/fatal.bees.loose.2.1711940.html http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=851626

Don't study at all the same day of your test. And don't overdo the caffeine, it will just make you more nervous. If you need coffee to "wake up" in the morning, fine, but don't drink a lot of it. It's just going to make you more jittery, or have to go to the bathroom during your test, which will lower your concentration; you won't be able to focus. Know your stages of labor, and rule of nines for burns... if they want to test your knowledge on those areas, they want to see that you can recognize signs and symptoms of them, and the severity of the situation (which for burns, is degree of burn and body surface that sustained the burn). I'm not saying you will get those type of questions, that is just an example. I took my exam last Monday, and if your exam is anything like mine, prepare for almost 100% scenario questions. And when it "shuts off" and they've determined if you've passed or not, don't freak out. I jumped, cause there is no warning, it just goes down. Good luck, let us know how it goes! ~Bliss

Hi everyone! I recently passed my EMT-B course and successfully passed my NREMT exam, with a state certification in Minnesota. When I started my job searching, I found a service that hires EMT-B, but requires dual licensure with Wisconsin. My only real question is: how do I find out what I have to do to obtain dual licensure? Is it going to be an entire additional course, or just paperwork transferring hands? I am wondering if anyone around here is from MN or WI, or has dealt with reciprocity requirements for either state. If so, I would really appreciate the help! Thanks, A. Bliss