Fire school?

[courageheartx]

Is anyone in the community a career firefighter and paramedic? What was the educational experience like?how did you find the CPAT?PAT?Curious on what the experience was like for different individuals.

[Medic2945]

I am both a fire fighter and Paramedic a Chief now but I passed the CPAT several times, it is the hardest test anyone would ever undertake, however it can be passed with some prep. Give me 6 months and I can have anyone pass it. I don't think the test is fair to women though.

[murphy]

I'm a firefighter / EMT-A. I know some guys who have therir medic number as well and they say while the CPAT is tough, it's manageable with a moderate amount of preparation. (depending on what level you're starting from)

[spenac]

I don't think the test is fair to women though.

I disagree. If a women chooses to enter a field she should have to pass the same tests as men do. In a fire, are injured people going to get lighter just because the fire fighter is a female? No. Is the hose going to get lighter? No. Are the male fire fighters going to have to do more than the females? Yes, if you allow females lighter weights and more time on the test.

[Just Plain Ruff]

I disagree. If a women chooses to enter a field she should have to pass the same tests as men do. In a fire, are injured people going to get lighter just because the fire fighter is a female? No. Is the hose going to get lighter? No. Are the male fire fighters going to have to do more than the females? Yes, if you allow females lighter weights and more time on the test.

*** Disclaimer - I'm about to make some people on this forum uncomfortable and probably angry - NO OFFENSE Is intended****

***Disclaimer - this might make the women here mad, so I apologize ahead of time****

i agree spenac, I have worked with scores of women medics and emt's and I found that I would do a disproportionate amount of the lifting on a large percentage of the calls. Not saying that all women partners cannot keep up with the weights and stuff but I can count on both hands the number of partners (female) that have been able to lift amounts comparable to what I can lift.

I expect from my partners the ability to do the job to my level of expectation and I expect that they want the same from me. If they cannot lift the same amount then I will be doing a disproportionate amount of the work therefore subjecting my back to greater stressors and possibly a greater chance of getting injured. I know my limitations and I call for help if needed. I expect the same from a partner too.

The other thing that gets me is short medics or emt's. I've had partners who could barely see over the head of the cot. Lifting with them was like lifting the entire load my self. Some of them were really strong (these are men and women) but being that short they never really got the needed leverage to get the cot all the way up at times. Again, I felt like I was shouldering the weight of most of the lifting.

I'm all for anyone trying to succeed in this profession but there has to be some level of standards that if you cannot consistently lift a patient or a cot without additional assistance then maybe you do not need to be doing what you are doing.

I know I'll catch hell for those statements but that's my opinion. Feel free to prove me wrong.

I've expressed my concern to some of my partners and have been proven wrong by a couple but have been proven right by almost all the rest. I'm not in the business to do the brunt of the work as that can lead to career ending injuries which some of my friends have had happen to them in exactly the same situation as what I described above.

[spenac]

The other thing that gets me is short medics or emt's. I've had partners who could barely see over the head of the cot. Lifting with them was like lifting the entire load my self. Some of them were really strong (these are men and women) but being that short they never really got the needed leverage to get the cot all the way up at times. Again, I felt like I was shouldering the weight of most of the lifting.

That brings to mind the old offensive to some song:

Short People

Randy Newman

Short People got no reason

Short People got no reason

Short People got no reason

To live

They got little hands

And little eyes

And they walk around

Tellin' great big lies

They got little noses

And tiny little teeth

They wear platform shoes

On their nasty little fett

Well, I don't want no Short People

Don't want no Short People

Don't want no Short People

Round here

Short People are just the same

As you and I

(A Fool Such As I)

All men are brothers

Until the day they die

(It's A Wonderful World)

Short People got nobody

Short People got nobody

Short People got nobody

To love

They got little baby legs

And they stand so low

You got to pick 'em up

Just to say hello

They got little cars

That got beep, beep, beep

They got little voices

Goin' peep, peep, peep

They got grubby little fingers

And dirty little minds

They're gonna get you every time

Well, I don't want no Short People

Don't want no Short People

Don't want no Short People

'Round here

[katgrl2003]

I've never been a firefighter, but I agree with Spenac and Ruffems. I have worked with female partners that can't lift the foot end of an empty cot. A lot of the girls I work with seem to have the attitude that they are female, weak and helpless. They can't lift as much as the guys, and shouldn't have to. I HATE that attitude! I worked with a female partner for approximately 4 months, and together, we could lift as much as guys could. Women can lift, they can do the job, but a lot of them just don't want to.

[triemal04]

I am both a fire fighter and Paramedic a Chief now but I passed the CPAT several times, it is the hardest test anyone would ever undertake, however it can be passed with some prep. Give me 6 months and I can have anyone pass it. I don't think the test is fair to women though.

Not to disagree or anything like that...oh hell, why not...the CPAT is far and away one of the most simple and easy physical agility tests out there. As far as a standardized test, it is the easiest. Period. If it takes someone 6 months to get into shape to pass it, 1-they were seriously (and I mean fixing to have an MI seriously) out of shape and 2-had no business even taking the test to begin with. It is a bit difficulty, I'll give you that, but all it really is is a representative test of the tasks that FF's routinely perform; it's made up like that so that nobody can cry foul! and say there was a bias to the test or it was unrelated to the job skills to be performed. That is a big reason why it got so much use (and still does), not because it is such a difficult test. With this it is much harder for women to complain that the test isn't fair. Which is bunk given that they, if hired, are expected to perform at the same level as the men on the departments. Many departments that give it still wash out a large number of people in their academys because they can't keep up; if it is such a hard test, how can that be happening? If someone shows up to take the CPAT and can't finish it, or barely finishes, that is someone that has no business being there in the first place.

Wow. I feel much better now. For the rest of the question, if you mean EMS education, due to the restrictions and requirements for Paramedics here, no fire department runs a medic program. As far as CE education goes, I like it. I'd prefer to have more, but what we do get is pretty good. Our doc's stay pretty involved in it, and that helps. Be a bit more specific and I'll give you more.

[katgrl2003]

I've never been a firefighter, but I agree with Spenac and Ruffems. I have worked with female partners that can't lift the foot end of an empty cot. A lot of the girls I work with seem to have the attitude that they are female, weak and helpless. They can't lift as much as the guys, and shouldn't have to. I HATE that attitude! I worked with a female partner for approximately 4 months, and together, we could lift as much as guys could. Women can lift, they can do the job, but a lot of them just don't want to.

[MedicAsh]

I am a female, I am a firefighter and an EMT. I had to work my ass off to work up to some of the guys but I did it. If you truly want it bad enough, you will work at it! I agree in saying that just because someone is a female, does not mean that we need lighter requirements. If you are in a structure fire and you have to drag someone out, are they going to be lighter if you are female NO! I know that being a female, you may not be able to run faster or lift more that a male, but you need to be able to push yourself to show that you can do the job. I can do jy job as a firefighter as good as any of the guys on the department can. I hate wonem who sit and say i cant do it cause I am weak. Get over yourself and TRY! Those are the women who make the rest of us look bad!