'Stayin Alive'

Run some wild calls lately, done some odd things, and been teaching a LOT of brand new members the ropes and how to handle themselves on calls...
here's just a few things I've said on calls lately that have gotten me in a little trouble...

"oh s***" (in reference to a patient's condition)

"Partner, to patient strapped onto stretcher: don't worry ma'am we haven't dropped anyone yet today
Me: but you are our first patient"

Patient: My chest hurts!!
Me: uhhh yea (looks at his wife) that's gonna happen when you do CPR on someone who's still talking to you.


To a patient who came up swinging at us after we administered Narcan (the wonderful anti-opiate)
Me: i swear if you don't stop moving, i'm gonna knock your ass out again!

after dealing with a PCP patient that took quite a few of us and police officers to pin down and cuff, as we carried the patient downstairs who was screaming like a banshee
Me (muttered to myself but apparently a little too loud): this is like the exact opening of the movie Quarantine
*everyone stops and stares at me*

and finally onto a brief story!

I recently had a very fortunate turnout on a call, as i was preparing to leave for the night from the station and get some sleep, just as i reached the doors to the outside i hear
" alert, medical box 111-1...alert medical box 111-1 engine 123, engine 134, medic 125, medic 135, supervisor 1...respond to 1479 spring drive for a cardiac arrest... **yr old patient, reported not conscious and not breathing, respond on alpha. Time now is 22:30" naturally i drop my bags, grab my gear, and climb on the engine as i was one of the few firefighters with medical certifications available to jump on the engine at the moment. As we fly down the road towards the house with our medic unit leading a convoy of flashing lights and sirens, i snap on a pair of gloves and close my eyes for a second to mentally prepare for another bad outcome, then as soon as i closed them, we came screeching to a halt. I jumped off our engine, ran and grabbed the oxygen bag off our medic and hustled inside right behind my officer, made my way downstairs to a patient with no pulse and fixed pupils. I immediately notified dispatch that we had a confirmed cardiac arrest and were beginning CPR, and began to do chest compressions as my fellow firefighters and the medic crew made their way downstairs...i finished up my first round and swapped with the firefighter who was 'ventilating' the patient with a bag valve mask, this continued for several minutes until we were told by the AED to stand clear and shock the patient, we did so, then i swapped again and performed another set of compressions, at which point the AED announced "stand clear...analyzing heart rhythm...check for pulse" i reached down to check the carotid artery and...
"Lt. We got a pulse!"
sure enough, we had a strong carotid and radial pulse, we then carried the patient to a stretcher and hauled to the hospital, when we left the patient was already beginning to breathe on their own again.

This was great news for me and frankly a real boost, knowing that this person would most likely be able to walk out of the hospital and return to their family, it's exactly why i do this, and even though some of the situations i deal with can be awful, i love the job.
a quote from a fellow first responder that always has stuck in my head, is "our today, for other's tomorrow"
well thanks for holding on and waiting for my next post everyone, y'all have been great to follow me for so long, i appreciate all my fans! feel free to post up on here, and i'll be creating an email soon so fans can reach me and ask any questions they may have.

--Burnout

Song of the Week: The Mighty Fall- Fallout Boy

Bariatrics

Hey folks!

I've been laying low recently and making sure i didn't put too much strain on myself, as i hurt my back while dealing with a nearly 500 lb patient that had an abnormally high blood sugar level. The patient was naked, had defecated on himself, and was wedged in-between his toilet and bathtub. Alas besides that there is not much interesting that has gone on in the life of Burnout currently...except that I am now single again, that's right everyone, the missus and i split. It's a shame however there will be others that come along, i'll keep my hopes up.
To all my loyal followers who read these, thanks, you all rock!

--Burnout

Song of the Week: Oh Miah by Blackmill

Seatbelts

People who know me are aware that i am a BIG proponent of the wearing of seat-belts, i wear them in the back of the engine and medic units, i wear them in my POV (personally owned vehicle), and no one is allowed in any vehicle i am driving if they won't wear one. This zeal of mine was recently reinforced from a wreck i worked on the highway just a few days ago, two teenagers were driving down the interstate when the right rear tire blew out, causing them to swerve across the highway into a ditch, and then roll their vehicle about 5 times at 80 miles per hour. I responded from station in our engine fully expecting to be working a traumatic cardiac arrest and yet when i arrived on scene both patients had self-extricated from the car and were able to sign refusals, and walk away with just minor cuts and bruises. After inspecting the car, i had little doubt that had they not been wearing their seat-belts it would have been a MUCH different turnout to the story. Most likely one if not both of these teenagers would have been ejected from the car, and would have suffered severe internal and external injuries. If surviving a vehicle rollover at highway speeds in a compact car is not enough of an incentive to wear your seat-belt, i honestly do not know what to tell you...seat-belts save lives folks, please buckle up before you hit the road, so that maybe you won't find yourself laying on my stretcher later on.
(should i get the clearance from my company to upload a picture of the car i will update this post with it, so my viewers can see just how effective the safety features in new cars are, if actually used by occupants)

That's my rant for this time...feel free to post up with questions or requests to hear my opinion on anything, should the mood strike you all.

--Burnout

Song of the Week: Born to Rise by Redlight King

That One Call...

Every first responder has that one call, or that one day that shakes them sooner or later, something that even the strongest of people are thrown through a loop from. Earlier this week my significant other had one of these days... in 6 hours she had three patients die on her, a two year old went into cardiac arrest and they were unable to get a pulse back, and then later in the day she responded to a car wreck where the mother of two children was pronounced on scene, and she worked a 26 day old baby all the way to the hospital that was in full cardiac arrest as well. Seeing her later, i knew she was shook up, what's amazing though to me, even though i do the same thing when i have a rough day of calls, is that she was able to take a deep breath, look at me, and then tell me she hadn't lost her faith in what she does. Her perspective is still the same as it was, that if she hadn't been there they would have passed away anyway, and at least she did all she could to try and bring them back. This is something many people don't understand about how we manage to get through such a stressful situation, we believe in what we are doing, we know that we cannot save everyone but at least we can do our best for every single person we treat.
I quoted to her the movie Serenity today, when she promised me she hadn't lost faith in herself and that there is a reason these things happen...(she is not religious).
The quote was "It does not matter what you believe in, as long as you believe in SOMETHING" I try to never forget this as to do what we do i think you need to have faith in something, anything, to get through such difficult times.
And i have to give her credit, she is one of the strongest people i know, it's good to have someone you trust to have your back as a first responder...

-Burnout

Song of the Week: Pompeii by Bastille

Angel Dust

There's not much more of an "Oh S***" moment in EMS i've had recently than receiving a call for an unconscious overdose, we arrive on scene and start prepping to inject the person with Naloxone (otherwise known as Narcan) when several police officers step into the room and the crew from an engine that was dispatched as well, and tell us to be careful if he stirs before we inject him. Why? because this person's drug of choice according to relatives was PCP, thankfully yours truly did not get put through a window by a crazed drug addict, the call was handled well and we all got to go home safely. PCP will always be a drug that puts me on edge if i am dealing with someone who has consumed it in some manner, simply because of the rage it causes and the lack of pain the person feels while under its' effects.

On a separate note, please pray for Houston Fire Department and the family members who lost 4 firefighters recently on a 5 alarm building fire, it's heartbreaking to hear of so many in one day, at one incident, make the ultimate sacrifice.

--Burnout

Song of the Week: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- In Like The Rose

Why?

Well this will be a short post, it is centered around a Facebook group called 911: you can't make this stuff up. Feel free to check them out, tell them i sent you, maybe they'll appreciate the extra traffic. Specifically i felt that this photograph of theirs (all due credit to the Facebook group and the owner in particular) embodies exactly why first responders do what they do...while this one is centered around firefighters, the words ring just as true for all those who go running towards the apparatus, racing to a call in a police cruiser, when those tones go out and they are dispatched. We do it because someone needs our help, and we'll be damned if we let anything get in the way of that. On a related note, keep the victims and first responders and military personnel who were at the Boston Marathon in your thoughts and wish them all the best, they certainly need it.

--Burnout

Song of the Week: Hurt by Johnny Cash
(someone please warn me if i start repeating songs occasionally, i may forget what i have used before)

Falling by the wayside

Wow...it's amazing how many people have dropped out of one of my fire department courses already, about a 30% dropout rate so far, and we are expected to lose several more by next week. I guess this line of work just isn't for everyone... As for interesting things that have occurred so far? I am in the process of driver training for the ambulances at my fire company, once i am approved to start i plan on hitting the ground running and getting cleared as an EVO (emergency vehicle operator) as soon as possible... look for videos in the future on fire calls as i try to figure out this crazy helmet camera i was given for my turnout gear!

See y'all around, hopefully not in the back of my ambulance...


-Burnout


Song of the Week: Fury Oh Fury By Nico Vega

Hysteria in Schools

Let me just dive right in to my rant; Has anyone else thought about how ridiculously over-reactive schools are nowadays? it is understandable to be more vigilant after recent events, but there comes a point when we are just inhibiting and punishing children's attempts to grow, experiment, and learn to adapt and react appropriately to their environment. I speak about this as lately i have seen that a child in Maryland was suspended for BITING A PASTRY INTO THE SHAPE OF A FIREARM, REALLY?! among other things kids lately have been suspended or warned about playing tag, and bringing a hello kitty toy gun that blows bubbles to school. Now the worst of these offenders would be a school in Florida that suspended two teenagers for several days, when they intervened in what could have been a lethal encounter on their school bus. Another student aimed a .22 caliber handgun at someone's head while on their school bus, and these two brave teenager tackled the suspect and disarmed him, possibly saving a life. The school system deemed it necessary to suspend them because it is their policy to apparently suspend anyone involved in a violent incident... reading such idiotic words gave me a head rush.
Rant over.
I'd like to hear my readers thoughts on this...

--Burnout

Long Night...

Nothing quite like getting puked on, coated in blood and bleach, and run with less than two hours of sleep for more than 6 emergency calls in a 24 hour span... Just another day in the life of a firefighter.




Song of the Week: Kitten Air by Scott and Brendo

Cardiac Arrest

Hello All! just want to post this up so you don't think i have forgotten about you, my faithful followers.

It has been an interesting past month with me working mostly on my medic unit, i have run at least calls for 10 strokes that were legitimate strokes and not another issue, and have run quite a few car wrecks as well. ( I have taken a sabbatical from my law enforcement volunteering to build my resume on the fire side, i will continue to post stories of my law enforcement experiences as stories that i recall pop into my head, if you're interested in my fire stories as well let me know!)

I have been absent due to me recently assisting with a cardiac arrest of a pediatric patient, there is just something about seeing a child with so much ahead of them in life pass away that bothers me significantly. After seeing this i slowed down a little and stopped working calls for a few days in order to properly manage myself and work through it, i am no good protecting others and performing life saving treatment if i'm not squared away mentally and emotionally. I am comfortable saying now though that i am back on my game and ready to get back to doing what i do best.

Hope Y'all have had a good start to 2013, and please...do not call 911 because you got your fancy SUV stuck in less than a foot of mud...


--Burnout

Song of the Week: We Are by Hollywood Undead

Insulting your Medics...

Folks, it is never a good idea to insult your medical providers after they have just pulled you out of a multi vehicle wreck and are transporting you to a Level I trauma center... saying our driver drives like a grandmother and insulting me and an experienced paramedic who are working on bandaging your injuries, managing your pain level, and splinting your injured arm might make the difference between us attempting to gently roll up the sleeve on your very expensive jacket to inspect your arm visually before we splint it, or just cutting through said jacket with trauma shears.

In other news...

I ask you to keep the members of one of my Fire Companies in your thoughts and prayers, in the last few weeks one of our larger apparatus was involved in a serious car wreck which injured several members, and another member recently passed away in an unrelated incident.


Song of the Week: Perfect Life by Red