I didn't mean to sound like a whacker at all, Dust. I work in a rural system where for a lot of people, myself included, it can sometimes be better to respond POV and wait for the truck to come. In MA, it takes 2 EMTs to roll with an ambulance, and because we have a hard time getting a crew together, we might respond POV with a jump bag waiting for mutual aid or for more people to show up at the station. I'm talking along the lines of a call on my street, or a couple blocks over. The only reason I brought this up is because I was ASKED for ID. I'm not one of those sh*theads that would swagger onto a scene and announce loudly that I'm an EMT, but I'd be a little nervous too if someone runs into my house with a jump bag, but wearing a tshirt and jeans. If I pissed you off, I'm sorry, it's just that our system out here is far from perfect. We have 35 EMTs on the roster, but a lot of times, it's pretty difficult to get people to show up to the station. Just as luck would have it, most of the time my pager goes off when I'm on my way back to town, or when i'm horribly far away from the station, but closer to the scene. Responding POV is optional, but encouraged, as we want to at least get the ball rolling in terms of patient care. The way I see it is that I'm a lot more helpful to a patient who's in trouble and scared if I'm actually there, rather than going 5 minutes out of my way to get to the station. On several occasions, I've turned around to try and make it to the station, and missed the truck altogether. That really made me feel like an ass. I just want to do what I feel is best for the patient. I'm not trying to boost my ego and feel all important by screaming onto a scene. I don't have lights in my car, or a siren, nor do I really feel they're necessary. Although, it's tough to get there as fast as people who are as crazy as some of my coworkers. Sorry to have upset you. I hope you can see my point of view on this.
Samson